Morgan Stanley Real Estate's Special Situations Fund III has announced that it has acquired an approximately 25% stake in RBI Holdings, a leading St. Petersburg real estate development company active in the residential and retail sectors. Special Situations made this investment through a dedicated capital increase.
This transaction is Morgan Stanley Real Estate's first investment in St. Petersburg. Morgan Stanley has had a continuous investment banking presence in Russia since 1994.
Commenting on the transaction, John Carrafiell, Global Co-Head of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, said: "Morgan Stanley Real Estate has a proven track record in identifying opportunities in Russia, having already made pioneering investments in RosEvroDevelopment, a real estate development company that is active in the retail and industrial sectors in Russia, and RGI International Limited, a prime residential developer in Moscow. We believe Russia's strong economic growth, and its fundamental undersupply of quality real estate provides us with the opportunity to expand our investment platform in St. Petersburg."
Mr Carrafiell added: "RBI is a fast-growing and entrepreneurial company with an outstanding track record of organic growth. We are excited at the prospect of contributing to its future success through this capital injection, which will be used to invest in several attractive projects in St. Petersburg and other parts of Russia."
Edward Tiktinsky, the Chief Executive Officer of RBI, said: "The partnership with Morgan Stanley will allow us to continue realization of our strategy not only in St. Petersburg, but also throughout Russia, and to expand our presence in various market segments, including commercial real estate. RBI has already begun searching for land plots for investment projects in other cities. The projects will include multi-use complexes comprised of residential and commercial real estate."
Source: Morgan Stanley
