GI Partners’ US$1.9bn fund targets mortgage assets

Trans-Atlantic private equity house GI Partners has used its US$1.9bn GI Partners Fund III to back the launch of Elystan Capital Advisers, a Munich-based investment firm targeting mortgage backed assets.

Currently managing approximately US$4bn in of private equity capital, GI has invested €100m in the German-based investment firm and plans to invest an even larger amount than the US$1bn it invested in Ladder Capital Finance, a U.S. specialty finance company created to take advantage of opportunities in the commercial real estate sector.

Supporting the mortgage banking sector in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Elystan will focus on investment opportunities across the mortgage and real estate sector. The company’s founders Keith Fischer, Dr. Robert Grassinger and Ulrich Kastner plan to target financial firms that are exposed to non-performing assets.

The firm’s strategy is to acquire non-performing loan books as well as mortgage-backed securities and real estate portfolios which it plans to consolidate and manage to increase performance.

Elystan and GI have been working together since June 2009 and also plan to pursue the acquisition of a bank that could be used as a platform to expand and grow a mortgage lending business.

Managing director of GI, Mark Tagisferri said: “We are delighted to be working with three principals and backing the Elystan platform. Their industry experience combined with their vision of opportunities in the German market make them an ideal partner for GI Partners.”

The GI Partners Fund III that held a final close in October 2009 was funded from private equity and real estate investors.