San Antonio Express-News

Patrinely sells stake to California equity firm

- By Katherine Feser STAFF WRITER

Houston-based real estate firm Patrinely Group has taken a “siginifica­nt” investment from a California-based private equity firm.

The national real estate developmen­t, management and investment firm, which has completed $10 billion in transactio­ns since 1983, announced Monday a deal that would give Menlo Park, Calif.based Paxion Capital a significan­t stake in its business. Terms were not disclosed.

The deal will position Patrinely to launch its next stage of growth through its new alignment with Paxion and its affiliates. Paxion’s co-founders Jim Davidson and Fritz H. Wolff are also investing in the transactio­n along with Len O’Donnell, president and CEO of

San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate.

Patrinely Group will continue to be based in Houston and its executive leadership team will remain in place. It is focused on large scale mixed-use, office, multifamil­y, data center and industrial properties in major markets.

“I could not be more enthusiast­ic to join forces with Len, Jim and Fritz,” Dean Patrinely, chairman of the eponymous company, said in an announceme­nt. “Over Patrinely Group’s 37-year tenure, we have establishe­d a strong foundation for the future with a robust national pipeline. This strategic partnershi­p is a once in a lifetime opportunit­y for Patrinely Group to take a quantum leap forward — very exciting, indeed.”

Robert P. Fields, Patrinely’s

president and CEO, and Chief Operating Officer Donald G. Thomas II will continue to manage the firm’s day-to-day operations and investment­s.

Paxion’s Davidson and Wolff are already involved with USAA Real Estate, a longtime partner with Patrinely on real estate projects. In April, USAA Real Estate sold a majority stake in the firm to company management and investors including Paxion Capital. As part of the deal, Paxion purchased a minority interest and

founders Davidson and Wolff became principals in the San Antonio realty company.

Patrinely has teamed with USAA on a number of projects, including a new office building in downtown Salt Lake City, the Aspen Lake office complex in Austin and the 2500 CityWest office building undergoing renovation­s in Westchase.

In Houston, Patrinely is developing several projects in Springwood­s Village in partnershi­p with USAA Real Estate and CDC Houston.

Dean Patrinely, who launched his real estate career with global developer Hines in Houston in

1980, said he has no plans to retire. Patrinely and Fields will continue to be significan­t investors in the company.

“Retire? My view is you’re not old until you’re 90, so I’m not going anywhere for a long while,” Patriney, 69, said through a spokespers­on. “I look forward to many more years of actively supporting Robert and Don as I do now, in addition to helping create value with Jim, Fritz and Len across the Paxion platform. I still have an investment stake in Patrinely Group and want to help grow the business.”

Already active in seven major U.S. markets, Patrinely is expect

ed to unveil endeavors into other markets in 2021, according to the company. Patrinely, which recently launched an expansion in the Western U.S., is expected to grow its industrial footprint.

Founded in 2015, Paxion’s holdings include substantia­l interests in real estate acquisitio­n and developmen­t, property management and technology-based services. Paxion’s recent investment­s, according to Crunchbase, include GameOn Technology, a chat applicatio­n used by global brands; Berkeley Lights, a biotechnol­ogy company; and Innovium, a provider of networking solutions for data centers.

Davidson co-founded Silver Lake, a technology investment firm he led from 1999 to 2018 before transition­ing leadership to his successors. Wolff is executive chairman of The Wolff Co., a real estate developmen­t business that will continue to operate independen­tly of Patrinely Group.

“Our new partners are aligned with our growth strategy and provide access to capital and opportunit­y on a scale that is transforma­tional for Patrinely Group,” Fields said. “I am extremely optimistic about our future.”

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