Deals

Metropolitan nets $70m for RE secondaries

The Carlyle-owned real estate investment firm has held another close for its first dedicated real estate secondaries and co-investment fund, with another closing anticipated by year’s end. 

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Metropolitan Real Estate Equity Management has held an interim closing for its first dedicated real estate secondaries and co-investment fund, Metropolitan Real Estate Partners Secondaries & Co-Investments Fund (SCIF), according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Metropolitan and its parent company, Washington, DC-based private equity firm The Carlyle Group, both declined to comment. However, PERE understands that Metropolitan has raised a total of approximately $70 million to date toward the vehicle’s equity target of $450 million.

While it previously invested in secondaries transactions through its multi-manager fund series, Metropolitan launched a dedicated secondaries platform earlier this year, hiring former Partners Group executives Sarah Schwarzchild and David Lei to head up the new initiative. The firm held a first close on its first dedicated secondaries fund on July 30, according to SEC filings. Sources familiar with the matter said Metropolitan is expected to close on additional capital by the end of the year and is eyeing a final close next summer.

Investments on behalf of SCIF are anticipated to be evenly split between secondaries and co-investments, with secondaries deals focused on acquisitions of limited partner fund stakes. Metropolitan is said to have identified a pipeline of more than $500 million in secondaries transactions alone.

Although limited partners can invest directly in SCIF, they also can invest through Metropolitan’s global multi-manager fund, Metropolitan Real Estate Partners Global VII. The vehicle is a feeder fund that offers allocations to both the domestic and international sleeves of the multi-manager fund, as well as SCIF.

Metropolitan was founded in 2002 by David Sherman and David Nasaw. Last November, Carlyle acquired the firm and made it part of its Solutions Group, which also includes AlpInvest Partners and Diversified Global Asset Management. Metropolitan currently oversees more than $2.6 billion of client capital worldwide.