Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) announced today that
it has closed its previously announced acquisition of EF&A Funding,
L.L.C, d/b/a Alliant Capital LLC, for approximately $61 million through
a combination of $52.9 million in cash and the issuance of 588,235
shares of ACRE stock with a value of $7.4 million based on the closing
price of ACRE’s common stock on August 30, 2013 of $12.65. Alliant
Capital LLC is a financial services company focused on originating and
servicing multi-family loans for various Government and
Government-Sponsored Entities (“GSEs”), primarily through the Fannie Mae
Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) program.
“We expect that the closing of this transaction will benefit our
shareholders as it greatly strengthens our direct origination platform
while providing further depth to our company through the addition of
Alliant’s experienced management team and significant servicing
operation,” said Todd Schuster, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Ares
Commercial Real Estate Corporation. “Additionally, this accretive
transaction should increase book value and provide an opportunity to add
meaningful non-interest income which should enhance earnings and
dividends in a capital efficient manner.”
Following the closing, Alliant Capital LLC will change its name to ACRE
Capital LLC, and continue to be led by Ed Hurley. As part of the
transaction, ACRE Capital LLC has retained its two warehouse line
facilities with $180 million of total availability to finance
multi-family loan origination activity. ACRE Capital will be a direct
subsidiary of ACRE Capital Holdings LLC, a wholly owned, newly formed
taxable REIT subsidiary of ACRE.
“Our entire team looks forward to taking advantage of the potential
product and revenue synergies in the combination,” said Ed Hurley,
President of ACRE Capital LLC. “With ACRE’s capital base and platform,
we plan to expand our GSE product offering and take advantage of our
differentiated value proposition in the market for short- and long-term
multi-family loans.”
About Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation
Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation is a specialty finance company
that originates, invests in and manages middle-market commercial real
estate loans and other commercial real estate investments. Through its
national direct origination platform, Ares Commercial Real Estate
Corporation provides flexible financing solutions for middle market
borrowers. Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation intends to elect to
be taxed as a real estate investment trust and is externally managed by
an affiliate of Ares Management LLC, a global alternative asset manager
with approximately $66 billion in committed capital under management as
of June 30, 2013 and pro forma for the AREA Property Partners
acquisition which closed on July 1, 2013. For more information, please
visit ACRE’s website at arescre.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included herein may constitute “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, which relate to future events or our future performance or
financial condition. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including
those described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation undertakes
no duty to update any forward-looking statements made herein.
Copyright Business Wire 2013