US$1.2bn real estate close for

Warburg Pincus has announced the final closing of Warburg Pincus Real Estate I, (WPRE I), a US$1.2bn global fund that will be invested in real estate opportunities worldwide.

“Real estate investing has been a focus area for Warburg Pincus for more than two decades, so I’m particularly pleased to be able to announce the close of this dedicated fund,” said co-president Joseph Landy. “We’ve moved to establish a separate fund for our global real estate investment activities at a time when the firm has seen its proprietary real estate deal flow increase substantially around the world.”

With the close of WPRE I, Warburg Pincus intends to apply its fundamental principles of private equity investing to an expanded focus on global real estate opportunities. This is the twelfth fund raised by Warburg Pincus since the firm’s founding in 1966.

Michael Profenius, a Warburg Pincus managing director and a partner in the firm’s global real estate practice, says: “WPRE I combines our real estate experience and private equity investing expertise with a strong, dedicated capital base. This enables us to take advantage of attractive real estate investment opportunities and the team is actively pursuing numerous transactions in the global market.”

The investor base of WPRE I is comprised of certain institutional investors, including a number of long-term limited partners who have previously invested in Warburg Pincus private equity funds.

“We are excited about investing in Warburg Pincus’ real estate fund because we like the global focus, including the exposure it provides to markets such as China and other parts of Asia,” said Phil Riordan, Senior Managing Director, GE Asset Management. “We believe that the real estate fund’s investment strategy, its integrated approach with its private equity business and its focus on entity-level investing are different and compelling.”

Over the last 20 years, Warburg Pincus has invested more than US$1bn in real estate and real-estate related transactions. The firm’s investments have spanned diverse real estate sectors including homebuilding, retail, senior housing, lodging, self-storage, land development and real estate services in North America, Europe and Asia.

Since1983, Warburg Pincus has invested $4.2bn in leading European companies including Caradon Plumbing, Clondalkin, Comcast U.K. Cable, Loyalty Management, MACH, Multikabel, Synesis, WNS and Zentiva, which was acquired earlier this year by Sanofi-Aventis.

Since 1971, when the firm raised its first institutional fund, Warburg Pincus has invested approximately US$24 billion in 550 companies in more than 30 countries. The firm currently has more than US$10 billion under management.