Ares Management Corp. is buying into an unusual net-lease niche: car dealerships.
The investment giant has closed on the acquisition of Capital Automotive, which specializes in owning car dealerships structured as long-term triple-net leases. Ares' alternative credit and real estate units paid $3.8B to the seller, Brookfield Property Partners.
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The sale represents a loss for Brookfield, a real estate arm of Brookfield Asset Management. The company bought Capital Automotive in 2014 from DRA Advisors for nearly $4.3B. DRA acquired the company in 2005 for $3.4B.
McLean, Virginia-based Capital Automotive owns over 250 net-leased car dealership assets in North America. The company built its portfolio by offering sale-leaseback capital to dealerships in the U.S. and Canada to facilitate their expansion or other upgrades.
The deal represents the latest expansion into net leases for Ares. Funds associated with Ares have invested in more than 1,200 assets valued at about $7.2B in the U.S. and Europe over the last 15 months.
The company sees a "growing market demand from sponsors and companies seeking a creative partner to help them unlock the value of their real estate assets," Joel Holsinger, Ares partner and co-head of alternative credit, said in a statement.
The investor's aim in the net-lease space has been broad. The recent acquisitions include retail, industrial and office assets leased to tenants with varying credit profiles. Altogether, Ares Management Corp. has about $306B in assets under management.
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