Apollo Real Estate Advisors, an affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Management, has hired a leading real estate attorney as it looks for opportunities in the distressed mortgage sector.Cindy Wenig, who headed the real estate practice at Chadbourne & Parke, joined Apollo as general counsel. At Chadbourne, Wenig advised real clients involved in the redevelopment of 125th Street in New York City’s Harlem and The World Trade Center site, and advised private equity funds on domestic and international real estate investments.
Real estate is an attractive area for funds, especially those looking for bargains. As the sub-prime mortgage meltdown hit with full force this summer, firms began to look for attractive investments in the sector including residential and commercial real estate, as well as the kinds of debt instruments that were at the center of the credit storm.