Ardent Wraps Second Fund, Exceeds Equity Goal
By Cathy Cunningham May 23, 2017 3:42 pm
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Ardent Financial has raised $155 million for its second debt fund, Ardent Financial Fund 2, Commercial Observer has learned.
The Atlanta-based investment and asset management firm, which primarily provides bridge loans on transitional assets, surpassed the $125 million goal it originally set for the fund last year following increased investor interest, Matthew Shulman, the chief executive officer of Ardent Companies and Ardent Financial, told CO. With leverage, the fund has a total investment capacity of a little more than $200 million, of which $50 million has already been deployed.
The predecessor fund, Fund I, raised $100 million of equity, which is now fully invested.
“The reason for the second vehicle is that we deployed capital much more expeditiously than anticipated,” Shulman said, adding that a third fund will also follow shortly. What’s driving investor appetite is the firm’s track record with transitional loans across all asset classes, he said.
Since its inception in 2015, Ardent Financial has made roughly $1 billion in debt and equity investments up and down the capital stack, from first mortgage loans to mezzanine debt and preferred equity, said Daniel Siegel, a managing director who oversees the fund’s investments. Recent transactions include the acquisition financing of Foothills Mall in Tucson, Ariz. on behalf of Bourn Companies and FHM Partners in December 2016.
Its debt platform targets any asset that is destabilized across the commercial spectrum, said Siegel. “Typically assets that have had hiccups in occupancy and cash flow or will require significant capital expenditure in order to reach restabilization as a secure, cash-flowing asset. That is the portion of the market we’ve targeted.”
In addition to its investment activities, Ardent also operates several million square feet of commercial real estate—primarily office and retail assets—across the U.S.
