Fir Tree Partners Names Zain Koita as Director in the Real Estate Team

NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Fir Tree Partners, a value-oriented private investment manager, with approximately $9 billion of capital under management, recently announced the appointment of Zain Koita as Director in the firm's private real estate group.

In his new position, Mr. Koita will be responsible for sourcing and managing private commercial real estate investments across all of Fir Tree's funds.  Specifically, he'll be seeking new opportunities nationally for joint venture and preferred equity investments as well as mezzanine and bridge loans.

Jarret Cohen, Head of Private Real Estate at Fir Tree said, "Zain's extensive experience in repositioning properties and managing joint ventures will be a great complement to our business.  We expect that his relationships and expertise will further broaden the transaction types we tackle."

"I am thrilled to join such a diverse, experienced team.  Having a broad mandate and flexible capital are big advantages for real estate investors today," said Mr. Koita.

Mr. Koita, whose appointment was effective January 1, was previously a Director in the Real Estate Private Equity Group at Angelo, Gordon & Co., where he led acquisitions and asset management across several geographies and product types in both the Opportunity and Core Plus funds.  Prior to that, he worked as a Development Associate for The Related Companies in Chicago.  Mr. Koita holds a M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis. 

About Fir Tree Partners   
Fir Tree Partners was founded in 1994.  The private investment firm manages approximately $9 billion of assets on behalf of leading endowments, foundations, public and private pension funds and other institutional and private investors.  Fir Tree invests worldwide in public and private companies and real estate across a wide variety of sectors and securities.  The firm has offices in New York and Miami.

SOURCE Fir Tree Partners