Adam Piekarski decided to go it alone after more than a decade at BDT & MSD Partners. He’s backing up that bet with a historic unveiling.
Derby Lane Partners has amassed $1.8 billion in commitments for its credit investment business, Bloomberg reported. That’s one of the largest launches in the sector’s history. The firm is expected to have $5 billion in lending power when considering leverage.
Prominent backers of the company include Fortress Investment Group and Koch Real Estate Investments. Others include BTG Pactual, Liberty Mutual Investments, Silver Creek Capital Management and Stable.
Piekarski described the moment as a “really attractive time” as his firm looks to capitalize on low property values and crystallizing market fundamentals.
“You can never call the bottom, but I don’t think at this time you are catching a falling knife,” Piekarski said about today’s lending environment.
Derby Lane isn’t narrowing its focus to specific property types, though Piekarski did note ample opportunities in the office conversion sector. The firm has already provided a $62.4 million senior construction loan to a joint venture of Acres Commercial Realty and Chicago-based Mavrek Development, which is converting an office property in Chicago’s Loop into a 252-unit apartment building.
Prior to leaving, Piekarski spent more than 13 years at Michael Dell’s BDT & MSD, working on private equity deals on behalf of the tech billionaire before being elevated to help run the real estate credit business alongside Jason Kollander in 2020. A large financing package for Manhattan’s Seagram Building was among the deals done under his watch.
Before that, he also had stints at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He left BDT & MSD last September and recruited former ACORE Capital managing director Kory Klebanoff and former Madison Realty Capital CFO Urian Yap to join his venture, Bloomberg previously reported.
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