BEVERLY HILLS, CA-Kennedy Wilson has sold a 20% interest in its apartment management division for $9 million to Kenedix, a Japanese real estate company that is traded on the Tokyo stock exchange. The deal represents what William McMorrow, chairman and CEO of Kennedy Wilson, calls the completion of an 11-year strategy of creating an operating presence in Japan and subsequently bringing institutional Japanese capital back to the US.
In addition to the sale, the two companies expect to buy $400 million of apartment properties together in the US in 2006. In the last year Kennedy Wilson has completed four major joint ventures with Japanese companies investing in apartment buildings in California with a total value of $200 million.
The apartment management division was started by Kennedy Wilson six years ago and manages 5,000 units in California. Bob Hart will continue to lead the division as president and CEO, with the new venture to be named Kennedy Wilson Multifamily Group. In addition to the management business, Kennedy Wilson's apartment investment group has purchased approximately $1 billion of apartment properties over the last six years.
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