Morgan Raises $2.5B More for RE Fund

Morgan Stanley Real Estate has announced the raising of an additional $2.5 billion of equity commitments for its Special Situations Fund III, more than 60% of it from investors outside the United States. The company said the commitments bring to $5.9 billion the total amount raised for the fund from institutional investors, high-net-worth investors, and Morgan Stanley (which represents 23% of the total). The fund is focused mainly on making noncontrolling investments in real estate securities in growth/emerging, developed, and distressed markets around the world. "The heavy emphasis on the high-growth emerging economies (China, India, Russia, Poland, Mexico, and Brazil), the flexibility to invest across the capital structure of real estate companies, and the ability to invest in developments and recurring income-producing assets in all real estate sectors is what makes this fund attractive in the marketplace," said Willem de Geus, managing director and global portfolio manager of Special Situations. Morgan Stanley Real Estate can be found online at http://www.morganstanley.com/realestate.