Cantor Fitzgerald Real Estate L.P. has agreed to buy a commercial mortgage unit of New York-based Ranieri Real Estate Partners, the company founded by famed mortgage security innovator Lew Ranieri.
The unit, RREP Recovery Partners Manager LLC, manages a $200 million fund that invests in distressed real estate assets. Fromer Deutsche Bank AG executives Jon Vaccaro and Eric Schwartz head up the unit.
The parties did not disclose the terms of the deal, but a spokesperson for parent company Cantor Fitzgerald told Bloomberg News that the transaction will see two well-known real estate finance veterans join the company and extend the firm’s reach into the “middle market” of commercial property lending. The spokesperson noted that RREP’s average loan volume is $1 million.
Plans for the $200 million fund have not been finalized, but Cantor Fitzgerald and RREP Recovery Partners have discussed forming a mortgage real estate investment trust, Vaccaro told Bloomberg. [Bloomberg News] – Tom DiChristopher