Behringer Harvard and Leading European Pension Fund Announce Joint Venture to Acquire Luxury Apartment Communities in U.S.

DALLAS, May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Behringer Harvard announced today that Dutch pension fund PGGM has agreed to co-invest up to $100 million with Behringer Harvard in a geographically diverse portfolio of apartment communities in top U.S. metropolitan areas. Target assets will consist of well-located Class A multifamily communities purchased from reputable national and regional developers before the properties achieve stabilized occupancies.

"As the investment manager for nearly two million Dutch healthcare and social work professionals, PGGM is highly selective about the programs it chooses to participate in," said Robert M. Behringer, founder and chief executive officer of Behringer Harvard. "Their decision to co-invest with us represents a strong endorsement of our multifamily development and acquisition platform."

Under terms of the agreement, PGGM will invest in individual assets with Behringer Harvard or one of the firm's current investment programs. Behringer Harvard will provide strategic management for each joint venture including acquisition, asset management and disposition services, legal and accounting services, and property management services.

Mark Alfieri, senior vice president-real estate for Behringer Harvard, said the joint ventures will seek traditional multifamily residential properties such as garden apartments, mid-rise apartments or high-rise apartment communities. "Each project will be a planned or a newly developed property that has not yet reached a specified occupancy level," said Alfieri. "We will be looking for projects where we will be able to create added value in areas such as project development, completion of project leasing, changing property management or leasing agents, providing additional capital to add or complete amenities, or combining projects in a given market to achieve economies of scale."

Bradley Olsen of Atlantic Partners assisted Behringer Harvard in this transaction and will continue to work with both parties in the growth of the relationship.

This is Behringer Harvard's second announcement regarding co-investment with international partners in real estate programs. In October, the company formed an alliance with German real estate firm HCI Capital AG to co-invest up to $1.3 billion in projects in Western Europe, focusing on Germany, the Netherlands and England.

About Behringer Harvard

Behringer Harvard is an integrated commercial real estate company investing in assets domestically and internationally. The company offers strategic real estate fund opportunities across a wide spectrum of investment styles for retail investors, as well as domestic and international institutions, through its real estate investment trusts, partnerships, joint ventures and proprietary program structures. For more information, call toll-free 866.655.3600 or visit http://behringerharvard.com/.

About PGGM

PGGM provides a pension scheme for over two million employees and former employees in the healthcare and social work sector. PGGM's invested capital now exceeds EUR 81 billion.