Saudi Arabia’s Alkhabeer Capital partners with USAA Real Estate Company to broaden US real estate investment portfolio - IFN

Saudi Arabia’s Alkhabeer Capital partners with USAA Real Estate Company to broaden US real estate investment portfolio

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GLOBAL: Founded in 2004, Saudi Arabia’s Shariah compliant investment firm Alkhabeer Capital (Alkhabeer) has partnered with USAA Real Estate Company (UREC) to enhance its real estate investment avenues in the US. Following the collaboration on the 1st September, Alkhabeer acquired Park Ten Plaza, a ‘Class A’ three-storey building located in Houston’s Energy Corridor. Built in 1999, the plaza is a 155,789 sq ft office space and home to over 300 multinational companies, including some of the largest energy companies in the world. “We have partnered with USAA Real Estate Company to complement our business plan with access to quality real estate investment opportunities in the US. We believe in the depth of the US real estate market, and our focus in 2013 will be on quality, income-producing assets,” said Ammar Shata, the executive director and CEO of Alkhabeer. In a bid to buttress its expansion strategies in the GCC and western markets, Dr Henri Chaoul, the chief investment strategist at the Islamic investment firm, recently revealed that the company seeks to list on Tadawul, the Saudi Arabian stock exchange. Pending regulatory approvals, the firm also plans to launch an IPO floating 30% of its capital by early 2014. Alkhabeer launched three new Shariah compliant funds in 2012 worth US$139.94 million, targeting property and industrial developments in Saudi Arabia and Europe. This has increased its Islamic portfolio to 10 funds, which comprise of six real estate funds, three publicly listed funds and an industrial private equity fund. Commenting on the deal, president and CEO of UREC, Len O’Donnell, said: “Park Ten Plaza’s location and diverse tenancy represents a very attractive institutional quality opportunity, affording Alkhabeer and UREC strong cashflow with growth potential.” Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, UREC is the real estate investment arm of USAA, United Services Automobile Association – a Fortune 500 financial services group of companies providing financial products and services to the US military community since 1922. The company currently has about US$12 billion in assets under management and ventures into investments in office, industrial, retail, hotel properties and real estate-operating companies.