Ares to Acquire Real Estate Asset Manager GCP International

Ares Management Corp. announced Monday its plans to acquire real estate asset manager GCP International, the international business of GLP Capital Partners Ltd.

The acquisition of GCP International will nearly double Ares Real Estate’s assets under management to $96 billion; as of June 30, Ares manages $51.5 billion in real estate assets.

The transaction, expected to close in the first half of 2025 pending regulatory approval, is valued at $3.7 billion. The acquisition will exclude GCP’s operations in the greater China region; the parent company has offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as well as in Europe, North America and South America.

“Combining our platforms will further enhance our strong position in the industry and bolster Ares as a global market leader in real estate with vertically integrated capabilities,” said Bill Benjamin and Julie Solomon, co-heads of real estate at Ares, in a statement.

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The combined business will increase Ares’ total AUM to $492 billion, up from the $447 billion the firm had as of June 30. The acquisition will increase Ares’ real estate assets under management to 23% of the firm’s total from 15%. Credit assets, in which Ares specializes, will drop as a percentage of the total assets it manages, to 66% in the combined business from 72% today.

The acquisition also expands the firm’s geographic footprint, increasing its assets managed in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by one percentage point, to 21%, and assets managed in Asia Pacific by four percentage points, to 7%.

“We have long admired the global real estate experience of GCP and its capabilities in facilitating the economy of the future, which includes investing in and managing industrial, data center and self-storage assets,” said Michael Arougheti, CEO and president of Ares, in a statement.