Wafra and Arden Group Partner on Industrial Service Facilities Across America
Posted on 10/23/2022
Wafra Inc. and Arden Group, a U.S. middle-market real estate fund manager, have announced a venture to acquire ISF properties located in in-fill sites across major markets in the United States. As part of this venture, the firms have closed on a portfolio of ISF properties, building an immediate presence in key growth markets, including Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Austin, and Miami. ISF stands for Industrial Service Facilities. Wafra is owned by Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS).
The venture’s assets will be managed by Arden’s vertically integrated industrial operating company, Arden Logistics Parks, which currently manages more than 10 million square feet of multi-tenant industrial with over 200 buildings and 1,300 plus tenants in 10 markets. The venture is targeting US$ 1 billion of industrial service facilities in certain U.S. property markets. The venture plans to scale a diversified portfolio of industrial service facilities, including industrial outdoor storage sites, truck terminals, trailer parking and last mile port facilities. Acquisitions for the venture will range US$5 million to US$ 30 million for smaller properties/regional portfolios and US$ 100 million to US$ 200 plus million for national diversified portfolios. The financing for the venture’s initial acquisitions is led by CIT Bank.
Wafra has a track record of scaling niche U.S. real estate strategies.
Advisors
Cleary Gottlieb served as Wafra’s legal counsel and Cozen O’Connor served as Arden Group’s legal counsel. CBRE served as Arden Group’s exclusive financial advisor in connection with the transaction and provided advisory services to the venture on financing.
