Firm Capital Private Equity Realty Corp. Announces Initial Capital Raise and Commencement of Firm Capital Private Equity Realty Corp.

TORONTO, May 5, 2015 /CNW/ - Firm Capital announces the closing of the initial capital raise and commencement of operations of Firm Capital Private Equity Realty Corp. ("FCPERC"). FCPERC is a real estate merchant banking and private equity investment corporation focused on opportunistic, tactical and distressed real estate debt and equity investments in Canadian public and private entities.

Investments will be heavily focused on the following investment platforms;

• Activist Strategies
• High Yield Structured Debt
• Distress Debt Acquisitions
• Real Estate Joint Ventures & Capital Partners

FCPERC has raised its initial capital and its growth capital will come from both future equity offerings and possibly an Initial Public Offering.

ACTIVIST INVESTING:
FCPERC employs an activist-style, opportunistic investment strategy focused on value-add investments primarily in the securities of Canadian real estate and financial services based entities as well as private and public debt, equity real estate, hard asset trust entities and financial services related investments. Investments will be focused across the following three platforms:

• Capital markets (activist and opportunistic investing in public vehicles);
• Identifying undervalued entities and taking a position with the goal of influencing management and the board for value creation; and
• High yield mortgage debt investments.

OPPORTUNISTIC INVESTING:
FCPERC is also focused on an opportunistic and value-oriented approach that includes making investments in middle-market real estate companies that may require capital for:

• Growth;
• Joint venture partnerships;
• Turnarounds;
• Debtor-in-possession financing;
• Restructuring;
• Other special situations;
• Mortgage debt; and
• Real estate investments.

KEY PERSONNEL:
Key personnel involved in FCPERC include the following individuals, all with many years of experience in real estate, capital markets, accounting and finance:

Manfred Walt 
Chairman
Mr. Walt is currently President and CEO of Walt & Co. Inc., a private investment and management company that provides various consulting services to entities owned by or associated with the Reichmann family and other third parties. Mr. Walt currently serves on the boards of Killam Properties Inc. & Firm Capital Property Trust.

Eli Dadouch
Vice Chairman & CEO
Eli Dadouch has been the President of Firm Capital Corporation, Firm Capital Properties Inc. (a property management company) since 1988. Mr. Dadouch is also the founder, President, CEO and a Director of Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corporation and the founder, Vice Chairman, as well as trustee, of Firm Capital Property Trust.

Sandy Poklar
President & COO
Sandy Poklar has been the COO and Managing Director, Capital Markets & Strategic Development of Firm Capital Corporation since June 2012. Mr. Poklar is also a Chief Financial Officer and a trustee of Firm Capital Property Trust.

Jonathan Mair
Co-CIO, Equity & Debt Investments
Jonathan Mair is the VP, Mortgage Banking, of Firm Capital Corporation, the CFO of Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corporation and a trustee of Firm Capital Property Trust.

Michael Warner
Co-CIO, Debt Investments
Michael Warner has 23 year of lending experience in the real estate industry including 19 years with Firm Capital. Mr. Warner is involved in all aspects of mortgage lending including mortgage origination, mortgage investments, underwriting, and administration.

Chris Ruhland
CFO
Chris Ruhland is Firm Capital's VP of Accounting & Finance. Prior to joining Firm Capital, Chris was involved with the financing arm for a group of companies which was operated by private equity firm based out of the U.K.

Carl Burton
Associate
Carl Burton was previously at Haywood Securities as an Equity Research Associate in Mining. Prior to that, Mr. Burton was in various investment banking roles at TD Securities, Hess Corporation, UBS and RBC Capital Markets.

For additional information about FCPERC, please visit www.firmcapital.com

ABOUT THE FIRM CAPITAL ORGANIZATION

Firm Capital is a real estate private equity and asset management firm focused on conventional and tactical debt and equity investments in the private and public markets. Since 1988, Firm Capital has established an exceptional track record of successfully deploying capital opportunistically in the Canadian real estate marketplace. Firm Capital focuses on a simple culture and goal: to be a client driven organization with impeccable integrity, focused on preservation of capital through disciplined tactical investing, while at the same time building long term relationships.

SOURCE Firm Capital Corporation

Eli Dadouch, Vice Chairman & CEO, [phone]; Sandy Poklar, President & COO, [phone]