(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board made an equity investment into a 11-property student housing portfolio that is spreadout across the country. Two assets are loacted in Northern California and Seattle. The one in California is the Foundation project located at the California State University Sacrament in Sacramento. The property in the State of Washington is the NXNW property at the Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.)
Bethesda, Maryland – March 16, 2017 – Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE: WD) recently financed two student housing portfolios for Scion Student Communities LLC, a joint venture among The Scion Group LLC (“Scion”), GIC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”). Both portfolios were financed through Fannie Mae credit facilities.
The first transaction involved the acquisition of six student housing properties. Walker & Dunlop utilized the expansion and borrow-up features of an existing Fannie Mae credit facility to achieve optimal proceeds of $233 million. A second Fannie Mae credit facility of $416 million was structured for the acquisition of 11 additional properties. The facility has both fixed and floating rate components to it with varying maturities. Many of the eleven properties qualified as Green Certified, reducing Scion’s borrowing cost significantly.
Managing Directors Brendan Coleman and Will Baker led the Walker & Dunlop team on both transactions. Mr. Coleman commented, “We are very excited to once again work with Scion, GIC and CPPIB on a highly strategic transaction. Our partnership with Fannie Mae has helped the joint venture to continue to expand its best-in-class student housing portfolio.” Mr. Baker added, “In 2016 Walker & Dunlop financed $1.6 billion of student housing properties. We have deep experience financing student housing properties, and these financings for Scion demonstrate our team’s expertise with large, structured transactions.”
About Walker & Dunlop
Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the largest commercial real estate finance companies in the United States providing financing and investment sales to owners of multifamily and commercial properties. Walker & Dunlop, which is included in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, has over 500 professionals in over 25 offices across the nation with an unyielding commitment to client satisfaction.
