Yieldstreet Closes In On Deal For Cadre

A real estate investment firm’s fall from its once-hot startup status could land it in a trade to an asset manager.

If Yieldstreet closes the deal on the acquisition reported by the Information, the valuation of investment platform Cadre is expected to hover around $100 million. The figure is a sharp dip from its 2017 peak valuation of $800 million.

Cadre, founded by Ryan Williams alongside Josh and Jared Kushner in 2014, connects institutional investors with real estate deals, touting its technology to source better investment deals for its clients.

In addition to backers like Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, Jack Ma and George Soros, the company nearly landed an investment from SoftBank at a $2 billion valuation before the deal ultimately fell apart.

Hopes were high for Williams as he took meeting after meeting — 18 to 19 a day, he once told The Real Deal. In 2017, Cadre predicted it was only a few years from being able to surpass $400 million in revenue annually. Last year, the goal was reduced to $120 million by 2025.

The company has since struggled to compete against larger private equity funds came into clear focus as the proptech apocalypse unfolded in recent years.

Investors last year learned the company was set to rake in less than $30 million in annual revenue and fail to become profitable once again. The company reportedly discussed raising a type of debt where investors could convert cash into equity at a $100 million valuation ceiling as long as other firms invested.

Should a deal be finalized, shareholders of the New York-based company would likely get stock in Yieldstreet, which is run by Michael Weisz. Founded in 2015, Yieldstreet offers investments in real estate and alternative assets like fine art. As of 2021, PitchBook valued the company at $850 million – though like many tech startups, that valuation has likely fallen substantially since then.

— Holden Walter-Warner