PCCP Acquires Control of $2B Lehman Funds

EL SEGUNDO, CA-Real estate finance and investment firm PCCP LLC has closed on its acquisition of the general partnership interests in two Lehman Bros. private equity funds holding mezzanine debt on $2 billion of assets. PCCP founding partner Bill Lindsay tells GlobeSt.com that the firm closed Monday on the deal, terms of which were undisclosed, which gives PCCP control of the general partnership interests of funds that hold mezzanine debt on 46 assets comprising hundreds of properties. The properties, in all commercial real estate asset classes, are mainly in the US but include several hundred million dollars’ worth of assets in Europe.

PCCP, which operates from offices in El Segundo, San Francisco and Sacramento, will open a New York office and plans to retain the funds’ current management team in that office. Lindsay explains that a number of factors made the deal appealing to PCCP.

First, the company has a long history in workouts and feels that it can add value to the efforts to preserve the capital that has been invested in the funds. In addition, “This transaction will allow us to create new relationships with investors that we did not have in the past,” Lindsay says. Third, the deal “allows us to expand to a national footprint,” Lindsay says, adding that PCCP is taking on “a very capable team” that is already in place in the New York office.

PCCP, which began as Pacific Coast Capital Partners in 1998, initially did 100% of its deals in California but later changed its name to PCCP to reflect its broader geographic reach when it expanded into other western states. Lindsay says that before the Lehman funds opportunity came along, PCCP had already considered whether it needed to expand to a national platform in order to be effective in today’s dislocated markets. When the Lehman deal became available, he says, it was “strategic but also serendipitous.”

Lindsay describes the Lehman deal as “a big team effort” involving the company’s L.A. and San Francisco offices, including three other PCCP founding partners, Nicholas Colonna, Donald Kuemmeler and Aaron Giovara. He adds that PCCP is looking for more such opportunities. “We are actively looking for situations where general partnerships of funds are going to be transferred into new hands or are looking for a stable platform to join,” the PCCP partner says.