SWFs Poised to Be Aggressive with US CRE

WASHINGTON, DC-Last week Hilton Worldwide closed on the sale of three of its properties, none of which are locally based. They were: the 740-room Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix, the 780-room Grand Wailea Resort, in Maui, Hawaii, and the 796-room La Quinta Resort & Club, in La Quinta, CA. The buyer of these Waldorf Astoria Resorts – an international brand of some renown – was another international entity with a valued brand in its own circles: GIC Real Estate, the real estate arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, and one of the world’s leading sovereign wealth funds.

Sovereign wealth funds, it is no secret, have been steadily building up a war chest of funds and all signs point to an unleashing this year. What may take some by surprise is the level of their wealth and the aggressiveness by which they will deploy their assets—especially as they step up their property investments.