Graham Winfrey

The Carlyle Group will purchase roughly $73m of common stock from Virgina-based Hampton Roads Bankshares, part of a $255m capital raise for the bank owner and operator.

With a wave of commercial real estate debt restructurings building, real estate veterans warn first time investors to be prepared for a steep learning curve and the impact of massive fees on returns.

The $16.7bn Austin-based Texas Municipal Retirement System has hired consultant ORG to help it add real estate as a new asset class. Texas MRS aims to allocate 10% of its portfolio to real estate over the next ‘several’ years.

The $21bn Austin-based retirement system will increase its overall real estate portfolio from 2% to up to 8% as part of a long-term diversification strategy, investing up to $600m in the next two years.

TPG Capital and Caruso Capital Partners have formed a joint venture that will invest as much as $750m of debt and equity in retail centers and mixed-use properties in the western US.

RREEF and ING Clarion’s real estate securities arm have backed Simon Property Group’s revised recapitalisation plan for bankrupt REIT General Growth Properties.

The private equity and real estate giant has reportedly teamed up with a group of investors, led by Centerbridge Partners and Paulson & Co., in a $905m bid for bankrupt hotel chain Extended Stay.

Colony Capital and Fertitta Gaming, the sponsors that led the bankrupty casino operator's $5.4bn buyout in 2007, have teamed up with some Station Casino lenders to put forward a reorganisation plan.

The endowment's CIO David Swensen told Reuters 'we continue to be very enthusiastic about exposure to illiquid assets'.

Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, the hospitality company taken private by Colony Capital and Kingdom Holding Company, is reportedly preparing to sell the legendary Raffles Hotel in Singapore to Qatari Diar. The Qatar sovereign wealth fund has yet to decide on the amount of money required to refurbish the colonial icon.