DALLAS, TX - Behringer Harvard announced today the formation of BH Capital, LLC, a Behringer Harvard-related company focusing on the acquisition of small-balance debt instruments sold on the secondary market via individual transactions or portfolio sales. BH Capital's investment strategy is to take advantage of opportunities presented by recent economic disruptions to acquire a blend of performing and non-performing loans secured by commercial real estate and other types of commercial/industrial assets.
BH Capital plans to acquire loans originating from the full spectrum of U.S. financial institutions, including sound, distressed and failed entities. The company will create and manage a series of private, closed-end funds which will be offered to accredited and institutional investors.
BH Capital will operate as a separate entity while leveraging Behringer Harvard's comprehensive institutional-quality infrastructure, commercial real estate capabilities, and shared services for marketing, accounting, human resources, legal/compliance, due diligence and other functions. The company intends to raise capital through a variety of sources, including through several independent broker-dealers in Behringer Harvard's selling group, and by partnering with family offices, private wealth management groups, private equity investors, pension funds and other institutional investors.
"We believe that the next three to five years will offer expanded business opportunities for experienced professionals with proven ability to acquire debt, manage workouts and sell commercial real estate assets in an improving market. BH Capital was created to take advantage of these emerging opportunities," said Mr. Michael B. McKinney, Chief Executive Officer of BH Capital. "We have established a management team that brings to this new venture a wealth of focused, disciplined experience in debt acquisition, portfolio management and disposition of acquired debt and collateral assets."
BH Capital is positioned to serve lenders addressing maturing debt placed during the U.S. commercial real estate market's peak years of 2005 to 2007. Loan sales are expected to increase as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which manages asset liquidation for failed member financial institutions, prepares to bring to market hundreds of billions of dollars of commercial loans secured by commercial real estate or other business assets. Moreover, both sound and distressed financial institutions are likely to increase loan sales as they rebalance their loan portfolios by reducing their exposure to commercial real estate and other over-weighted asset classes.
"We are pleased that Behringer Harvard has been the catalyst for the timely launch of BH Capital," said Mr. Jay Verdoorn, Chairman of the BH Capital Board of Managers. "While BH Capital benefits from the brand strength and established infrastructure of Behringer Harvard, BH Capital's operational management team will complement and enhance Behringer Harvard's current organizational platform. BH Capital brings capabilities that will allow Behringer Harvard to diversify and expand the types of investment strategies available to its clients and partners."
The management team of BH Capital comprises six executives with years of relevant experience at a major wholesale bank that is one of the most active buyers in the U.S. secondary loan market. Over their collective careers, these industry veterans have acquired, originated, managed and sold more than $17 billion of commercial and residential loans, representing extensive experience in virtually every asset class. The BH Capital management team includes Mr. Michael B. McKinney, Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Randy Hughes, President and Chief Operating Officer; Mr. Daryl Bird, Executive Vice President of Loan Acquisitions; Mr. Paul Jankovsky, Jr., Executive Vice President of Investment Strategies; Mr. Kevin A. DeLozier, Executive Vice President of Portfolio Management; and Mr. Bryan Crow, Executive Vice President of Finance and Reporting.
BH Capital is a Behringer Harvard-related company specializing in the acquisition of small-balance debt instruments. BH Capital takes advantage of opportunities presented by recent economic disruptions by acquiring a blend of performing and non-performing loans secured by commercial real estate and other types of commercial/industrial assets originating from the full spectrum of U.S. financial institutions, including sound, distressed and failed entities.