Almanac Realty Investors Provides $350 Million Capital Commitment to ECI Group

Commitment will fund company growth through development and acquisitions in the Southeast and Texas, where ECI Group has an established presence

October 25, 2024, New York, NY — Almanac Realty Investors (“Almanac”), a business unit of Neuberger Berman, has committed up to $350 million of capital to further ECI Group’s expansion. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Atlanta, GA, ECI Group is a vertically integrated, private real estate company with in-house acquisition, development, construction, property management and investment management capabilities that have enabled ECI Group to develop over 10,600 units and acquire over 8,200 units.

This new round of equity capital will be utilized to fund acquisitions, developments, and credit investments within the multifamily sector. ECI will target the acquisition of existing 1990’s vintage or newer multifamily communities, as well as the development of new multifamily communities in the Southeast and Texas. ECI’s investments will be both direct, on balance sheet, and through new, project-level joint venture partnerships. Furthermore, ECI has launched a lending platform in partnership with Smith Hill Capital (“Smith Hill”) that will provide first mortgages, mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments to multifamily owners.

ECI CEO, Seth Greenberg, said, “ECI is excited to take our long relationship with the team at Almanac to a new level, investing alongside them as we take our existing portfolio of 7,600 units in 28 properties throughout the Sunbelt and refine and grow that portfolio through both acquisitions and our in-house development team. We see the opportunity for a fully integrated, experienced company like ours to invest in markets with substantial shortages of market-rate apartments of all types.”

“ECI is a deep and sophisticated platform with significant operating and investment capabilities. Under the leadership of Seth Greenberg and team, the company has positioned itself to execute on a broad opportunity set within the multifamily space.” Said David Haltiner, Managing Director at Almanac. “We look forward to establishing this long-term partnership and supporting ECI’s growth initiatives.”

Jones Lang LaSalle Securities, LLC (“JLL Securities”), an affiliate of Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc was exclusive advisor to ECI Group on the transaction and was managed by Ted Flagg in collaboration with Roberto Casas, Co-head of JLL Capital Markets.