Carlyle said its acquisition will help stabilise the operations of the properties, which are assisted living facilities for the elderly, and that it is committed to continuing to extend quality care to the residents.
Carlyle Asia Real Estate Partners will buy the assets from the Goodwill Group which is an investment holding company with stakes in a wide range of businesses. It is owned 29% by Origuchi Soken, 8.6% by UBS and 7.2% by Morgan Stanley.
The facilities are all located in central Tokyo and comprise a total of 346 units at four residences. They include Bon Sejour Grand Suginami Miyamae (Suginami Ward), Bon Sejour Grand Nanpeidai (Shibuya Ward), Bon Sejour Grand Sakura Shinmachi (Setagaya Ward), and Bon Sejour Grand Yoga-no-Mori (Setagaya Ward).
Nomura Healthcare, a specialised healthcare asset manager which is part of JapanÆs Nomura Group, will co-manage these properties. Nursing home manager ZECS Community Residence will be responsible for the day-to-day care of the residents and operations.
Carlyle clarified that the ownership change would not impact residentsÆ rights (including claim for restitution of one-time deposits) under the residential agreements with ZECS or existing terms and conditions of the residential agreements.
ôCarlyle is proud to be entrusted with the ownership and management of the Bon Sejour Grand properties,ö says Rio Minami, managing director and head of CarlyleÆs Japan real estate team in a written statement. ôIt is paramount that we are able to quickly respond to the situation and finalise an ownership structure to enable current residents to live in comfort and convenience as usual. Carlyle will strongly support ZECS in the running of the facilities.ö
Carlyle raised $410 million for its first Asia real estate fund in August 2005, adding to a then $4 billion in global funds dedicated to real estate. The fund had a mandate to invest in China, Japan and Korea and with leverage would be able to purchase about $1.5 billion of assets, Carlyle said at the time.
Carlyle started real estate investing in Asia the same year with two investments in Japan: Omiya Center Building, a 14-story office building in Saitama City, a major satellite city north of Tokyo; and Diamond Warehouses, a 900,000 sqf records retention and storage complex outside Tokyo.
Private equity buyers in Asia are continuing to announce investments because the local banking systems in countries like Korea, Japan and Taiwan are flush with funds and still willing to provide debt funding for deals. Real estate specifically is able to raise leverage because hard assets form the security for debt provided.
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