International Investment Bank (IIB), a Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank, has acquired a $250 million, 2,400 unit multi-family residential portfolio with Atlas Residential Management.

The Class A portfolio was acquired from Dallas-based Pillar Income Asset Management, said a statement.

Existing senior debt for the portfolio, which is insured by US Department of Housing and Urban Development was assumed during the transaction, with Macquarie Bank providing $71 million in mezzanine financing.

The 11-property portfolio is primarily located in Dallas (Texas, US), but includes assets in the Houston, Midland/Odessa and El Paso area.

The IIB / Atlas venture was created to acquire, improve and operate these assets to capitalise upon their long-term fundamentals, said the statement.

Atlas Residential Management will provide asset management for each of the properties and will effect the cosmetic enhancement and physical upgrades planned for each of the properties.

Saeed Al Fahim, chairman of IIB, said: "The acquisition of these high quality multi-family residential apartment buildings adheres to our core strategy of focusing on investment opportunities with the objective of achieving attractive returns for our investors and we are excited about our partnership with Atlas on this project as well as similar endeavours in the future”.

Steven Ivankovich, CEO of Atlas Residential, said: "This was a great way to conclude 2013, and we are grateful to our partners IIB and Macquarie for sticking with us during a complicated HUD loan assumption process. This acquisition reinforces our belief in the Texas market where we have a long and successful track record of owning and managing diverse apartment portfolios."

Saker Capital acted as adviser on behalf of Atlas Residential. - TradeArabia News Service