Spanish Private Equity Giant Sets Sights On U.S. In Partnership With Miami-Based Exan Capital
A major European private equity firm is joining forces with a Miami-based fund manager, giving them both international capabilities.
Azora Capital, based in Madrid, with €4B of assets under management, is teaming up with Exan Capital through a joint venture, Azora Exan. The new JV will focus on office, residential, hospitality and senior living, IPE Real Assets reports.
Azora was founded in 2003 and has a strong presence in Spain, Portugal and Italy, Spanish business publication Eje Prime reports. The firm manages more than 14,000 rental homes and built the Hispania REIT portfolio to 46 hotels with over 13,000 keys, then sold the platform to Blackstone in July 2018, Hospitality Net reports.
Azora's latest European hotel fund has a portfolio of 4,600 keys in 18 hotels and an investment capacity of more than €1.8B, the outlet reported.
Meanwhile, Exan, founded in 2013, has more than $1B of assets under management, CoStar reports. On behalf of wealthy clients from Spain, Latin America and the Middle East, it has completed more than $3B of real estate transactions, mostly office and logistics investments, in 30 U.S. markets. This month, it bought two industrial properties that are leased to Amazon.
“Both companies complement each other remarkably well," Exan Capital founder Juan José Zaragoza said, according to IPE. "On one hand, Exan has a manifestly strong ability to raise capital for core and core-plus real estate investments throughout the U.S. On the other hand, Azora contributes its substantial expertise in raising capital for value-add strategies around Europe."
