Big Mack attack

With real estate investment firm AREA Property Partners set to be acquired by Los Angeles–based Ares Management, AREA co-founder William Mack and his sons Richard and Stephen last month announced a new company, Mack Real Estate Group.

Richard Mack, previously North America CEO of AREA, will head the new development and investment company as CEO. His father, who is in his 70s, will serve as chairman. Stephen (husband to Kelly Kennedy Mack, president of Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group) is also a co-founder of the company, though MREG declined to elaborate on what his specific role will be.

Industry insiders said the formation of the new company likely comes from a desire to shift investment strategies.

“When you’re in a private equity shop, there’s a certain lifespan to [each] deal — you have to exit the deal at a certain point,” said Ron Solarz, managing partner at Brookfield Financial, who has worked with the Macks. “Now that it’s a family business, [Richard Mack] can do what he likes, and probably what he likes is to build wealth, which generally means developing and holding great assets.”

He added: “I think Richard is a very smart guy, and I sense that he’s going to be just as successful [as he was at AREA], if not more so. There’s no reason to doubt this guy — he’s a superstar.”