GIC's Jesse Hom named head of real estate finance at Blue Owl
NEW YORK, April 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Blue Owl Capital Inc. (“Blue Owl”) (NYSE: OWL), a leading alternative asset manager, today announced it has acquired Prima Capital Advisors (“Prima”) for aggregate purchase price of $170 million to build on Blue Owl's real estate finance strategies. Prima manages approximately $10 billion in assets on behalf of institutional investors and select high net worth individuals. The acquisition is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.
Founded in 1992 by Gregory White, Prima is a real estate lender focused on investing in commercial mortgage-backed securities. Prima is majority owned by Stone Point Capital LLC (“Stone Point”), an alternative investment firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut. Blue Owl's acquisition of Prima will be funded through a combination of approximately $157 million in stock and approximately $13 million in cash, subject to certain closing adjustments, and may receive up to $35 million in earn-out consideration in the form of stock. Prima employees are expected to join Blue Owl following the closing of the acquisition.
Blue Owl also announced that Jesse Hom, who was global head of real estate credit at GIC, will join Blue Owl to lead the newly created real estate finance strategy and serve as chief investment officer of Blue Owl's real estate platform, reporting directly to Mark Zahl, Blue Owl's co-president and head of real estate. In addition to launching Blue Owl's real estate finance strategy, Hom will work to grow the existing triple net lease business and identify strategic opportunities to build out and expand the real estate platform.
Blue Owl Co-CEOs Doug Ostrover and Mark Lipschultz said, “The acquisition of Prima further expands Blue Owl's capital solutions, adding differentiated, high-quality real estate lending capabilities and further diversifying our real estate platform. There is a significant capital shortage in the real estate sector today, and we believe that combining Prima's strong underwriting capabilities and track record with the scale of the Blue Owl ecosystem can address this need and create attractive risk/return opportunities for investors. Today's announcement underscores our thinking on strategic inorganic growth at the investment platform level. Mark Saar and his team have built a leading triple-net real estate business that is even more comprehensive and attractive with the addition of Prima's lending capabilities.”
Mark Zahl, co-president and head of real estate at Blue Owl, said, “I have had the pleasure of knowing Jesse for many years and can say he is one of the most respected, thoughtful and experienced real estate credit investors in the industry. I am confident that he, along with Prima's talented team, which maintains a 30-year track record of success, will further enhance the value proposition of our real estate platform.”
Jesse Hom said, “The opportunity to develop a dedicated real estate finance strategy building on the great success of both Blue Owl and Prima is a unique and exciting prospect. I am grateful for the 15 great years I have had at GIC and look forward to beginning a new chapter in my career.”
Gregory White, CEO of Prima, said, “As we evaluate our next steps to best serve our stakeholders, we determined that Blue Owl was the clear value driver given the strength of its management team, exceptional capabilities and strong collaborative culture. Along with Prima's CIO, Nilesh Patel, CFO, Julia Tcherkassova and the rest of the Prima team, I am excited to join Blue Owl and continue the strong tradition they have built over the past 30 years.”
Chuck Davis, CEO of Stone Point, said, “Blue Owl has established itself as a leading capital solutions provider in the alternative investment industry and is well positioned to build on Prima's track record of success. We are proud to have partnered with Greg, Nilesh, Julia and the rest of the Prima team for over 12 years and believe Blue Owl will help take Prima to the next level. We are excited about Prima's future as part of Blue Owl and are pleased to join the firm in an equity investment in Blue Owl.”
Berkshire Global Advisors LP and JP Morgan Securities LLC are acting as lead financial advisors to Blue Owl in connection with the transaction. Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Wells Fargo, Newmark and Scotiabank are also acting as co-advisors to Blue Owl. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to Blue Owl.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to Prima. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP are acting as legal advisors to Prima.
About Blue Owl
Blue Owl (NYSE: OWL) is a leading asset management firm redefining alternative investing.
As of December 31, 2023, the firm has over $165 billion in assets under management, invested across three multi-strategy platforms: Credit, GP Strategic Capital and Real Estate. Backed by a strong, durable capital base, the firm offers companies private capital solutions that drive long-term growth and provides institutional and individual investors with differentiated alternative investment opportunities that seek to deliver strong performance, risk-adjusted returns and capital preservation.
With over 685 experienced professionals across the globe, Blue Owl brings the vision and discipline to create excellence. For more information, visit www.blueowl.com.
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Important factors that may affect actual results or outcomes include the failure to recognize the anticipated benefits of strategic acquisitions, costs associated with acquisitions, the inability to maintain Blue Owl's shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Blue Owl's ability to manage its growth, Blue Owl's ability to execute its business plan and meet its expectations, potential litigation involving Blue Owl, changes in applicable laws and regulations and other economic, business, geopolitical or competitive factors that may adversely affect Blue Owl.
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SOURCE Blue Owl Capital