group, came from a family of property investors and was quick to
recognize the bargains that abounded in the wake of the early 1990s
recession.
Angelo Gordon was his partner on many of those deals. One day, the
investment firm called him up and offered him a job.
"He truly had it all—an analyst, a mentor and a leader," said John
Angelo, co-founder and chief executive of the New York-based firm.
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Dan Bigelow
Keith F. Barket
Mr. Barket, who died Wednesday at age 49 of peritoneal mesothelioma, a
rare form of cancer of the abdominal lining, vaulted Angelo Gordon,
one of the world's largest hedge-fund firms, into the top league of
private-equity real-estate investment.
Angelo Gordon now has more than 50 professionals working in its
real-estate department. During the past 17 years, the firm has
invested more than $5 billion of equity in about 300 deals, and Mr.
Barket has helped it build a major presence in China.
A St. Louis native, he was known for his sanguine personality and
down-to-earth manners in real-estate and private-equity circles. "You
always knew where you stood with him," said prominent hotelier Ian
Schrager. "It's a breath of fresh air in our business."
During the more recent real-estate downturn, many fund managers and
property developers have been struggling with heavily indebted deals
made at the top of the market. But Mr. Barket's team emerged
relatively unscathed and has become an active buyer of distressed real
estate.
In the past 18 months, Angelo Gordon has invested more than $1 billion
of equity in about 50 deals, including the high-profile purchase of
the Helmsley Carlton House hotel and apartment building in Manhattan.
In addition, the firm is one of the few private-equity fund managers
that has successfully raised money. It recently closed a $625 million
fund to invest in Asia's property markets.
Both Mr. Barket's father and brother have been active in real-estate
investment. A graduate of Georgetown University, he got his M.B.A.
from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and was
active during the 1990s doing deals with the Resolution Trust Corp.,
the government agency set up to liquidate assets, mostly real estate,
seized from failed thrifts.
Mr. Barket joined Angelo Gordon in 1997 and did his first major deal
one year later amid the market turbulence caused by the Russia debt
crisis: the $60 million purchase of the Chelsea Market complex in
Manhattan. The firm converted the buildings from manufacturing to
office and retail. It has attracted tenants like Food Network and
Oxygen Network, and today, by some estimates, is valued at more than
$850 million.
"Keith saw the fantastic long-term opportunities in the property,"
recalled Adam Schwartz, who heads the firm's U.S. real-estate
investment.
Mr. Barket was an avid tennis player and was proud of his partial
Lebanese heritage, his family and friends said. "His life was a life
of celebration," said his younger brother, Sol. "He was a realist, and
he was always the one who would say, cut your losses and move on with
life."
