CenterSquare Spins Off from BNY Mellon

By Gail Kalinoski

Todd Briddell, CenterSquare CEO & chief investment officer

Saying it wanted to streamline its portfolio, BNY Mellon Investment Management has agreed to sell its real asset investment subsidiary CenterSquare Investment Management to its management team and the private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners.

BNY Mellon has owned CenterSquare for 11 years and the two firms are expected to continue as partners in a number of areas after the deal closes later this year. Terms of the transaction were not released.

Founded in 1987 as Urdang Capital Management, the firm rebranded as CenterSquare in 2013. It has approximately $9 billion in assets under management in the U.S., as well as global real estate and infrastructure investments.

Lovell Minnick Partners was founded in 1999 and invests in the financial and related business services sectors, raising $1.7 billion in committed capital since its inception. The firm has completed investments in more than 30 companies with targeted investments including in asset management, financial and product distribution, insurance, banks and specialty finance.

Both CenterSquare and Lovell Minnick are located near Philadelphia. Lovell Minnick also has offices in New York City and Los Angeles.

Sustainable growth

“CenterSquare is a highly respected real asset investment manager and teaming up with Lovell Minnick will ensure that CenterSquare continues to thrive. For BNY Mellon Investment Management, this transaction meets our strategy of streamlining our portfolio to provide a focused set of specialist investment solutions for our clients via our global distribution network. We will continue to offer real asset investment solutions through our other investment boutiques,” Mitchell Harris, BNY Mellon Investment Management CEO, said in a prepared statement.

BNY Mellon Investment Management, which is one of world’s leading investment management organizations and a top U.S. wealth manager, is a division of BNY Mellon and has about $1.8 trillion in assets under management.

For CenterSquare the sale offers a way to stay connected to its former owner but to also team up with a new partner, tap new resources and continue to grow its business.

“We believe this transaction will position us to continue to optimize client solutions and pursue sustainable growth initiatives in a rapidly evolving investment landscape. Our firm has enjoyed significant growth over the last 11 years with BNY Mellon and we will continue our partnership via a number of sub-advisory relationships,” Todd Briddell, CenterSquare CEO & chief investment officer, said in a prepared statement.

Lovell Minnick executives are looking to CenterSquare’s experience in real asset solutions that they hope will provide strong investment returns for their clients.

“We see an opportunity to enhance distribution and development of CenterSquare’s premier real assets platform, and to leverage our track record in building investment management businesses to help the team drive further growth and client success,” Jason Barg, principal at Lovell Minnick, noted in prepared remarks.

CenterSquare began its business by providing direct real estate investment management services to institutional investors but has since expanded to include U.S. and global real estate and infrastructure management services on behalf of leading institutional and private investors.

Earlier this year, CenterSquare was a capital partner for CapRock Partners as it purchased two multi-tenant industrial parks in Las Vegas. The deals, completed as off-market transactions with two separate owners, comprised two assets totaling 203,134 square feet.

Image courtesy of CenterSquare Investment Management