(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Berkadia, Berkshire Hathaway’s joint venture with Jefferies Financial Group, named Andy Wimsatt Senior Managing Director and Head of Berkadia Hotels & Hospitality.
Wimsatt will be based in the DC Metro office and will report to EVP – Head of Capital Markets and Production Hilary Provinse. Wimsatt joined Berkadia on July 17.
“We’re thrilled to have Andy join Berkadia and lead the Hotels & Hospitality team. Andy brings decades of expertise and leadership experience in the hospitality sector, which will augment and complement Berkadia’s national platform of institutional, client-driven investment advisors, and mortgage bankers,” Provinse said. “Over the last three years, the team has strategically grown through the addition of senior hotel talent from other leading capital markets platforms.”
Prior to joining Berkadia, Wimsatt served as Managing Director at Eastdil Secured, where he focused on hotel equity and debt placement services. Over the course of his 30-year career, he has been involved in over $15 billion in transaction volume.
“Berkadia is well known for its unrivaled culture, and I am incredibly excited to be a part of the team,” Wimsatt said. “I’m joining an outstanding group of professionals who share a commitment to delivering exceptional client service while continuously expanding our footprint.”
Berkadia Hotels & Hospitality combines best-in-industry innovation, knowledge, and experience with the most comprehensive suite of products and services, backed by relentless customer service and support to empower clients to capitalize on the right opportunities at the greatest value. The group serves clients across the country, offering a full set of advisory, investment sales, underwriting and loan origination services and products including Life Company, Proprietary Bridge Lending and Capital Markets Advisory Services.
About Berkadia
Founded in 2009 as a 50/50 joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corporation (now known as Jefferies Financial Group), Berkadia is a third-party commercial mortgage servicer, as well as an approved lender for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD/FHA.
The company is among the top Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae multifamily lenders.
Berkadia owes its origins to GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation, which was acquired in 2009 by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Five Mile Capital Partners LLC, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. Christened Capmark Financial, the company had $10 billion of originations in 2008 and a servicing portfolio of more than $360 billion before running into bankruptcy in October 2009.
In a deal approved by the bankruptcy court, Capmark sold its mortgage loan and servicing to the newly formed Berkadia in a deal worth $515 million.
The deal brought Berkshire into the heart of the commercial loan serving business, and the company has one of the largest commercial real estate servicing portfolios.
© 2023 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.