Greystone, Quilvest JV on MF Acquisitions

NEW YORK CITY-Greystone, best known as a multifamily lender, has formed a joint venture with Quilvest & Partners to acquire properties in the space across the US. A spokeswoman for New York City-based Greystone tells GlobeSt.com the JV is "in the hundreds of millions," with no set time frame for completing the venture.

As part of the JV, Greystone and Quilvest, a European-based private equity investor and wealth manager, will seek to acquire multifamily properties with a value-add component. Initial target markets include areas in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Already, the JV has acquired apartment properties in the Florida panhandle, the Research Triangle of North Carolina and Greenville, SC.

The JV's ideal acquisition targets are properties dating from the 1980s or newer, and more than 200 units in size. Following acquisition by the JV, all properties will be managed and repositioned by Greystone Property Management Corp.

"Quilvest maintains a similar vision to Greystone in its approach to multifamily asset acquisition, where we seek out opportunities to realize potential value through strategic repositioning or rehabilitation," says Jeffrey Simpson, head of Greystone's property development group. "Additionally, Greystone can provide a seamless and integrated property management component to ease the transition and improve the tenant experience for residents."

At Quilvest, principal Barry Hammerman says that as his company seeks to capitalize on the strength of the apartment sector in the US, "investing in management-intensive properties across select secondary cities is particularly attractive. Greystone has established itself as a leading player in this sector with its track record of investment in, management of, and lending to borrowers for multifamily property."

Quilvest & Partners is the management company of Quilvest Private Equity, the private equity arm of the Luxembourg-based Quilvest Group. The group has about $27 billion in assets under management across Europe, Asia and North America.