(Reuters) – U.S. real estate investor Andrew Farkas is all set to buy Centerline Holding Co, a provider of real estate financial and asset management services, by investing $100 million in equity in the company, the Wall Street Journal said. Farkas will also assume $180 million of Centerline’s debt, the paper said.
The deal comes at a time when opportunistic investors are scouting for profitable deals to take advantage of the carnage in commercial real estate, according to the paper. Island Capital Group, founded by Farkas, bought the Centerline unit that specializes in restructuring ailing mortgages that were packaged into bonds, the paper said. The unit is the designated “special servicer” for about $110 billion of loans bundled into commercial mortgage backed securities, according to the paper.In September, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) and Leucadia National Corp (LUK.N) agreed to buy Capmark Financial Group Inc’s mortgage loan and servicing business for up to $490 million, increasing exposure to a possible U.S. housing recovery. Island Capital Group could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.
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