Fortress Investment Group

Congratulations to Airspan Networks, a Fortress portfolio company, on its $42.7 million award from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)’s Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund to advance next-gen Open RAN technology. In the company’s press release, Glenn Laxdal, CEO of Airspan Networks, notes that “Open RAN is a cutting-edge architecture that enables advanced 5G features and lays the foundation for 6G. This funding enables us to increase our technology investment and accelerate our next-generation Open RAN radios. At Airspan, we are committed to supporting the initiative of 5G leadership and innovative technology development in the United States." The NTIA’s award is designated for Airspan Networks’ highly efficient 4G/5G O-RU extensible platform – a project that seeks to build a platform to integrate the latest advanced radio unit features to maximize power efficiency. Learn more about the award in Airspan Networks’ full press release here: https://lnkd.in/dJyPcQBs and in the announcement from the NTIA here: https://lnkd.in/gN_M9Eku

Fortress portfolio company Mammoth Freighters made significant progress during 2024, with eight Boeing 777 aircraft in various stages of modification from passenger to freight carriers in both Fort Worth, TX, and Manchester, UK. Watch this space for more exciting developments in the year ahead!

Fortress Investment Group announces that funds managed by its affiliates have acquired assets of APR Energy, comprising 30 mobile gas-powered turbines and related balance-of-plant inventory with a combined energy generation capacity of 850 megawatts. The turbines are immediately available for deployment. “Energy infrastructure is an increasingly precious commodity – and is particularly critical for the build-out of datacenters needed to advance AI applications,” said Joshua Pack, Co-CEO and Managing Partner at Fortress. “Acquiring these turbines allows us to offer almost immediately available energy capacity which, alongside our existing real estate financing and development capabilities, is a compelling proposition for customers seeking rapidly available datacenter infrastructure.” In conjunction with the acquisition, Fortress has signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Duos Technologies, Inc., Duos Energy Corporation – a company led by APR Energy’s prior executive management team – to assist in overseeing the management and deployment of the assets. Read the full press release: https://lnkd.in/eeYK6Hj9

SPB Hospitality, a portfolio company of Fortress Investment Group, has finalized the sale of its brewery and specialty restaurants, encompassing 16 locations. This strategic transaction sharpens SPB’s focus on its flagship brands – Krystal Restaurants LLC, Logan's Roadhouse, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom, J. Alexander's Restaurants, Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill, Amada Vino + Tapas and Village Whiskey.   “This marks a transformational chapter for SPB Hospitality as we double down on the growth of our flagship brands and the integration of our recently acquired concepts from Chef Jose Garces,” said Josh Kern, CEO of SPB Hospitality.   Read more in FSR magazine: https://lnkd.in/eZA6D2gp

At the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit, Fortress Co-CEO and Managing Partner Drew McKnight participated in a panel discussion about the growth of private credit. Speaking about the breadth of the Fortress platform in the context of that growth, Drew noted that, "[at Fortress,] we don’t really delineate between private and public credit. Credit is credit. We look at everything from sponsor finance, non-sponsor finance, asset-based finance, litigation finance and intellectual property finance - we really do all types of credit broadly. And that’s part of the growth of private credit."   Speaking about the opportunity in the coming year, Drew added, "The largest part [of private credit] that’s growing right now is asset-based finance, consumer finance, and we’re seeing that from an opportunity set, that’s actually a bigger portion of our private credit book than traditional LBO and non-sponsor financing." Fortress's dedicated asset-based finance team has a 20+year track record in the sector, and this year has originated approximately $5 billion of transactions.   In Drew's remarks, he noted that private credit is helping to provide more stability to the financial markets, and that the allocation from high-net-worth individuals to alternatives is still in very early stages and will continue to grow in the coming years. Photo credit: Milken Institute. #MIGlobal

For 17 years, Fortress colleagues have donated toys in support of the US Marine Corps annual Toys for Tots toy drive. The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation’s program aims to deliver joy and send a message of hope to America’s less-advantaged children, a tradition that dates back to 1947. We’re grateful to all the Fortress colleagues who are participating this year, and hope that our donations will help more children throughout the United States experience the joy of the holiday season.

Monmouth Square – the redevelopment of Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, NJ – will transform the underutilized space into a modern, open-air town center featuring 990,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, an expansive public green, a network of pedestrian pathways, residential units, and medical office space. Funds managed by Fortress affiliates are providing financing for the residential component of the project, including 1,000 apartment residences, 125 of which will be designated as affordable housing. The development, pictured here, was recently recognized as Retail Transaction of the Year in Commercial Observer magazine’s 2024 Breakthrough Awards. Spencer Garfield, Managing Director at Fortress, said, “We are pleased to work with Kushner and GreenBarn Investment Group on such an important project for the Eatontown, NJ, community. Monmouth Square provides a compelling opportunity for us to have a positive impact on the community for decades to come while seeking to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns for our investors.”

Fortress recently welcomed investors to Athens in Greece for a conference on European non-performing loan opportunities.   During the event, guest speaker Alex Patelis, Chief Economic Advisor to Greece’s Prime Minister, shared insights into the Hellenic Republic’s economic recovery – exemplified by the country regaining investment grade status – and the broader European economic and political landscape. Samy David, Partner at Grifon Capital – Fortress’s partner in Greece for the past 12 years – joined the event and spoke about investment opportunities.   Francesco Colasanti, Managing Director, Co-Head of European Credit and Co-Head of Fortress’s European NPL business, welcomed Alex and Fortress investors to the conference. “Over the past decade, we’ve seen the European non-performing loan market transform from a relatively limited country-specific dynamic to a continent-wide opportunity set. Over the past eight years, more than €800 billion in gross book value of non-performing loans have changed hands in Italy, Greece, Spain, and Portugal alone, but for the most part these loans are still in the system and therefore still need to be resolved. We believe there will be more opportunities across the continent through government-sponsored schemes, real estate auctions, reperforming asset sales and secondary trades – creating promising new avenues for us to grow Fortress’s NPL and opportunistic credit businesses.” “Greece’s strong growth is one example of several southern European countries outperforming their northern compatriots. In real estate, we see stress moving north as part of that trend, helping to create more opportunities for our business,” added Christopher Linkas, Managing Director and Co-Head of Fortress’s European NPL business. “In some of these northern markets, we see a ‘refinancing gap’ as declining real estate prices prohibit refinancings at the same moment when lenders’ appetite for these loans is weakening. We believe there will be significant opportunity in the coming years in and around these situations.”

Fortress Investment Group today announced key leadership appointments for the firm’s newly created Client and Product Solutions Group (“CPSG”), which will replace the firm’s prior Capital Formation Group (“CFG”) in January 2025.   Scott Werthamer, a 17-year Fortress veteran and formerly Deputy Head of CFG, and Seth Ruthen, who joins Fortress on January 6, 2025, have been appointed Co-Heads of CPSG, reporting to the firm’s Managing Partners.   Fortress veterans Peter Hausmann and Maggie R., who have held senior positions focused on key client relationships for a combined 30 years, have been appointed Co-Heads of Institutional Sales within CPSG.   In a joint statement, Drew McKnight, Co-CEO and Managing Partner, Joshua Pack, Co-CEO and Managing Partner, and Jack Neumark, Managing Partner, said, “From our position today as an industry leader in providing capital solutions to our clients, we plan to strategically expand the breadth of our products in the coming years while increasing our geographic diversification and continuing to grow our Private Wealth Solutions and Insurance Solutions businesses. As Co-Heads of our Client and Product Solutions Group, Scott and Seth will work with their teams to create products and structures that allow us to diversify significantly the cost, duration and type of capital we raise – which in turn will allow us to target an even broader set of investment opportunities as we seek to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns to our investors. We are also very pleased to announce the appointments of Peter and Maggie to lead our institutional sales efforts.”   Read more:

Philip Knatchbull is returning to Curzon as Interim Executive Chairman. Curzon became a Fortress portfolio company last month, making it an independent UK-based company. Philip was previously CEO of Curzon from 2006 to 2023; under his leadership, the company grew from a few locations into a national cinema company with film exhibition, distribution, production, and on-demand streaming services. “I’m very excited about the next stage of the Curzon journey and am looking forward to reuniting with so many of my colleagues in this new role. I return during a pivotal moment for the [film] industry with full confidence in Curzon’s ability to be a strategic and cultural leader," said Philip in the company's statement. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/etPNaEXg