We could face challenges related to the integration of Black Creek Group into the business, operations and corporate culture of Ares, the allocation of corporate resources, and the retention of Black Creek Group personnel, which could adversely impact our business and reduce the synergies that we expect to benefit from as a result of the transaction.
The integration of Black Creek Group into the business of Ares could present challenges that are often encountered by the surviving companies of similar corporate transactions (e.g., issues involving the integration of corporate cultures or infrastructure), in addition to unanticipated challenges, which could divert time and attention away from the activities of our Company.
As a result of the transaction, there may be future changes to the composition of our senior management team and investment professionals. The loss of one or more key people at the Advisor who are expected to continue to serve in their respective roles following the closing of the transaction could have a material adverse effect on our performance.
Former employees of Black Creek Group, in their capacities at Ares, are expected to work on new projects or accounts that they were not involved in when Black Creek Group was a standalone business. As a result of the transaction and related integration of certain Black Creek Group personnel, conflicts may arise in the allocation of certain personnel and other resources. Different entities and persons may be performing different roles and devoting different levels of attention to our Company as compared to the individuals and entities performing these functions prior to the closing of the transaction.
There will not be a complete overlap in the team of management professionals, and the roles of various team members, as between our Company and prior investment vehicles sponsored by Ares and Black Creek Group, respectively. Investors should consider this when reviewing historical information about our Sponsor following the closing of the transaction.
We compete with entities sponsored or advised by affiliates of the Sponsor, for whom affiliates of the Sponsor provide certain advisory or management services, for opportunities to acquire, lease, finance, or sell investments, and for customers, which may have an adverse impact on our operations.
We compete with entities sponsored or advised by affiliates of the Sponsor and may compete with any such entity created in the future, as well as entities for whom affiliates of the Sponsor provide certain advisory or management services, for opportunities to acquire, lease, finance or sell certain types of properties. We may also buy, lease, finance or sell properties at the same time as these entities are buying, leasing, financing or selling properties. In this regard, there is a risk that we will purchase a property that provides lower returns to us than a property purchased by entities sponsored or advised by affiliates of the Sponsor and entities for whom affiliates of the Sponsor provide certain advisory or management services.
Certain entities sponsored or advised by affiliates of the Sponsor own and/or manage properties in geographical areas in which we expect to own properties. Therefore, our properties may compete for customers with other properties owned and/or managed by these entities. The Advisor may face conflicts of interest when evaluating customer leasing opportunities for our properties and other properties owned and/or managed by these entities and these conflicts of interest may have a negative impact on our ability to attract and retain customers. The Sponsor and the Advisor have implemented lease allocation guidelines to assist with the process of the allocation of leases when we and certain other entities to which affiliates of the Advisor are providing certain advisory services have potentially competing properties with respect to a particular customer. These guidelines are designed to allow, where possible, each fund with a potentially competing property to bid on a lease with a prospective customer in a fair and equitable manner.
Because affiliates of the Sponsor and the Advisor currently sponsor and advise, and in the future may sponsor and advise, other investment vehicles and clients (each, an “Advisory Client”) with overlapping investment objectives, strategies and criteria, potential conflicts of interest may arise with respect to real estate investment opportunities. In order to manage this potential conflict of interest, in allocating opportunities among the Advisory Clients, the Sponsor follows an allocation policy (the “Allocation Policy”) which endeavors to allocate investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner. The Sponsor’s Allocation Policy, which may be amended without our consent, is intended to enable us to share equitably with any other Advisory Clients that are managed by the Sponsor and the Advisor and competing with us to acquire similar types of assets. Under the Allocation Policy, real estate equity investments will be considered for Advisory Clients based on appropriateness and conformity with their respective investment objectives, as well as the suitability of the investment for each Advisory Client. Suitability is determined by a variety of factors related to the investment mandates of each Advisory Client, the nature of the investment opportunity and the composition of each client’s portfolio. In the circumstance where an investment is suitable for only one Advisory Client based on such factors, the investment will be allocated to that Advisory Client. Where an investment is suitable for more than one Advisory Client, the Sponsor generally employs an allocation rotation process pursuant to the Allocation Policy that is designed to facilitate an equitable allocation of such opportunities over time. Nevertheless, it is possible that we may not be given the opportunity to participate in certain investments made by Advisory Clients managed by affiliates of the Sponsor and the Advisor. In addition, the Sponsor may from time to time grant to certain Advisory Clients certain exclusivity, rotation or other priority (each, a “Rotational Priority”) with respect to industrial