Berkadia Acquires Apartment Brokerage Moran & Co.

Veteran dealmaker Mary Ann King will head up Berkadia's new platform and help oversee the integration of Moran’s 31-member team.

Mary Ann King, Co-Head of Investment Sales and Head of Berkadia Institutional Solutions, powered by Moran. Image courtesy of Berkadia

Commercial real estate services firm Berkadia has acquired the apartment brokerage practice of Moran & Co., creating a new multifamily investment platform specializing in institutional investors. Moran Co-Chairman Mary Ann King, a prolific dealmaker who co-founded the firm in 1994, will join Berkadia to head the new business and help oversee the integration of Moran’s entire 31-member team.

King will assume the title of co-head of Investment Sales & head of Berkadia Institutional Solutions, powered by Moran. She will be working together with Berkadia executive Keith Misner, SVP, who is now co-head of Investment Sales, to absorb Moran’s team, which spans across the country and includes 15 dedicated institutional sales advisors.

Berkadia CEO Justin Wheeler said in a statement that the move would help the company “transform apartment institutional investment sales nationally.” The expansion continues a series of acquisitions by Berkadia over the past two years, including the purchase of brokerage firm LIHTC Advisors announced last September. In March 2019, Berkadia acquired Central Park Capital Partners, launching a new Joint Venture Equity & Structure Capital Group.

Familiar face for new platform

King, described on Moran’s website as the “face” of the company, has a 25-year track record in multifamily investment sales with a focus on institutional investors. The apartment veteran noted that the team will be a fully integrated platform with a national presence as Berkadia Institutional Solutions, supported by Berkadia’s full range of capital markets resources.

Berkadia noted that private real estate equity fundraising has reached record levels in the past few years, including $83 billion raised in 2019 and $23 billion raised through June 2020, according to Preqin data. The company, a joint venture of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway and Jefferies Financial Group, added that the multifamily industry has shown impressive resilience and long-term income growth.