Hands up all those who thought RREEF was going to be sold. In case you didn’t know, Deutsche Bank announced that talks to sell the platform to Guggenheim Partners were off, as the two sides couldn’t agree on terms.
Personally, I am intrigued to hear what really happened to this deal. Surely, there must be more to this tale than can be satisfied by the simple ‘explanation’ that terms couldn’t be agreed. What does that mean exactly, and why couldn’t something be sorted out? Deutsche Bank is not saying much, and Guggenheim, a firm I suddenly have become very intrigued by, has said precisely nada.
Oh well, on with the show then. Instead of analysis of how that merger will play out, we have an interview with a firm that knows how to execute a strategy – Kennedy Wilson, the California firm that burst into everyone’s consciousness by taking over an Irish bank’s real estate platform and then promptly agreeing to the biggest single deal in European private equity real estate in 2011. James Comtois caught up with the firm in Los Angeles to find out more, the details of which you can read starting on page 26.
For investors that have been spooked by the shenanigans in Europe, we have just the right antidote. While many of the continent’s markets have given cause for concern, four real estate professionals make the case for investors to park their capital in the Nordics. PERE caught up with them in Stockholm, and you can read their perspectives beginning on page 42.
Just to underline the cautious stance some of the biggest and savviest investors are taking on Europe as a whole, I recommend you check out our interview with James Garman, the global co-head of Goldman Sachs’ REPIA. He joined us last month at the PERE Summit: Europe in London, about which you find out more and see pictures on pages 17 and 16, respectively.
In addition, we have the usual blend of news analysis and features. On page 13, Evelyn Lee analyses the nuances of Brookfield’s latest fundraise, while she examines the notion of LPs asking well-performing opportunistic managers to become their general partners on core funds on page 8. Meanwhile, James Comtois examines the trend towards ‘real assets’ as an asset class. Indeed, there is no bigger evangelist for this movement than JPMorgan, which you will discover on page 10.
I think you will find there is a lot of insight in this month’s magazine. These may be unpredictable times, but you can rely on us at least to bring you the latest and most important developments impacting the industry.
Enjoy the issue,
Robin Marriott
Editor, PERE
robin.m@peimedia.com
If you do not receive this within five minutes, please try to sign in again. If the problem persists, please email: 
