BNY Mellon Investment Manager Sees Compelling Investment Opportunity

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., March 2, 2010 — An investment fund managed by URDANG, the real estate investment manager and part of BNY Mellon Asset Management, has made a participating loan to Ridgeback Partners for its acquisition of 291 finished lots and 17 homes in the Hillside development, located north of Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada. Urdang Value-Added Fund II L.P. (Fund II), a private real estate fund managed by Urdang Capital Management Inc., provided the acquisition financing.

The property was purchased from a consortium of banks, which had taken control of the asset in November 2008.  Terms were not disclosed.  

"The investment presents a compelling opportunity to acquire Class A finished lots in one of Las Vegas' strongest submarkets," said Jeffrey B. Reder, senior vice president, acquisitions, at URDANG.  "Our intent is to sell the completed homes in bulk to investors or directly to private homebuyers and to sell the lots to homebuilders as the market for new homes shows signs of recovery.  As we have made a participating loan, the Urdang fund will share in profits resulting from those sales."  

Reder added, "While Las Vegas has certainly been one of the hardest hit markets in the nation, we feel this has created an opportunity to invest at a very attractive cost basis in a well-located, unique property that is positioned to be an early beneficiary of a market recovery."

Jeff Barcy, chief executive officer of Ridgeback Partners, said, "We look for unique opportunities at steep discounts to replacement cost and the Hillside community clearly met that criteria. The previous builder spent approximately $22 million on the land and $15 million on land improvements. We are excited to buy years of work and infrastructure for pennies on the dollar."

Hillside marks the second Fund II participating loan provided to an entity owned and controlled by Ridgeback Partners.  Fund II made a participating loan in August 2009 to Ridgeback Partners for its acquisition of Monte Sereno, a gated community comprising 60 estate-sized finished lots in Palm Springs, California.

Ridgeback Partners is an investment management firm formed in 2007 by Jeff Barcy and Marcus Buerosse to take advantage of compelling distressed residential opportunities in the US market.

Founded in 1987 with an exclusive focus on institutional investment grade real estate, URDANG offers a variety of strategies and products, managing approximately $1.6 billion in public real estate securities through Urdang Securities Management, Inc. and approximately $2.0 billion in debt and private equity real estate investments through Urdang Capital Management, Inc. for institutional investors and high net worth individuals throughout global markets and across public and private capital sectors.  URDANG's research-driven process combines top down economic analysis and market/country selection with bottom up underwriting of properties, companies and management teams to seek high, risk-adjusted returns.  It is one of the investment boutiques of BNY Mellon Asset Management.

BNY Mellon Asset Management is the umbrella organization for BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms and global distribution companies.

BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets.  BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team.  It has $22.3 trillion in assets under custody and administration, $1.1 trillion in assets under management, services $12.0 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.6 trillion per day.  Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.

All information source BNY Mellon Asset Management as at 31/12/09. This press release is qualified for issuance in the UK and US and is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an offer or solicitation of securities or investment services or an endorsement thereof in any jurisdiction or in any circumstance in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful or not authorised. This press release is issued by BNY Mellon Asset Management (US) and BNY Mellon Asset Management International Limited (ex-US) to members of the financial press and media and the information contained herein should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. Registered office of BNY Mellon Asset Management International: The Bank of New York Mellon Centre, 160 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4LA. Registered in England no. 1118580. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority
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