Makarora Management and Ares Alternative Credit Funds secured $1.46 billion in commercial mortgage-backed securities acquisition financing to complete the purchase of Plymouth Industrial REIT, according to a Fitch Ratings presale report.
Citi Real Estate Funding, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are expected to co-originate the loan. The two-year, floating-rate, interest-only mortgage backs 145 primarily industrial properties comprising 227 buildings across 32.1 million square feet in 11 states, Fitch said. The loan includes three 1-year extension options.
Makarora and Ares completed the roughly $2.1 billion all-cash deal on Jan. 27, with Plymouth shareholders receiving $22 per share. The joint venture contributed $660 million in cash equity to facilitate the transaction.
The financing represents the largest single-borrower industrial CMBS transaction in two years, according to CoStar data.
"The portfolio is well diversified, with 145 properties located across 11 states," Fitch analysts Michael Howlett and Roelof Slump wrote in the report. The three largest state concentrations are Ohio, at 36.9% of the allocated loan amount; Tennessee, at 15.4%; and Indiana, at 12.4%.
Plymouth's portfolio of cost-competitive Midwest and East Coast industrial properties is strategically located within a day's drive of 70% of the U.S. population, according to Fitch.
"These properties are well positioned to capitalize on strong industrial demand from these major population centers," Chad Pike, chief investment officer of Makarora, said in an October statement announcing the proposed deal. Makarora did not respond to requests for comment from CoStar News.
The portfolio was 92.3% leased to more than 500 distinct tenants as of the February 2026 rent roll, with no single tenant representing more than 2.4% of net rentable area.
The largest tenant, Royal Canin, accounts for 1.8% of base rent, Fitch said. The pet food manufacturer leases 3051 Gateway Commerce Center Drive in Edwardsville, Illinois, under a lease that expires at the end of this year.
About 88% of the portfolio's base rent will expire by year-end 2031, including 53.7% by year-end 2028, the year of the mortgage loan's initial maturity, Fitch noted. The largest individual roll year is 2028, when leases for 19.4% of tenants are due to expire.
"The portfolio has demonstrated notable leasing performance since 2024, with Plymouth executing approximately 18.3 million square feet of new and renewal leases at an average positive releasing spread of approximately 18.1%," Fitch said. The portfolio has a weighted-average build year of 1988.
Plymouth's management team is expected to continue operating the properties following the acquisition. The company maintains regional offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; and Memphis, Tennessee, in addition to its Boston headquarters.