SEC Company Response from PGIM Private Real Estate Fund, Inc. (CIK 0001875084) — Jun 3, 2022
PGIM Private Real Estate Fund, Inc. (CIK 0001875084)
Date: June 3, 2022 · CIK: 0001875084 · Accession: 0001104659-22-068202
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 333-259133, 811-23739
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CORRESP
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filename1.htm
Simpson
Thacher & Bartlett llp
425
Lexington Ave.
New
York, N.Y. 10017
telephone:
+1-212-455-2000
facsimile:
+1-212-455-2502
Direct
Dial Number
(212) 455-2516
E-mail Address
bwells@stblaw.com
June 3, 2022
Via EDGAR
Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Investment Management
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attn: Alberto H. Zapata, Senior Counsel
Re: PGIM Private Real Estate Fund, Inc.
Registration Statement on Form N-2
Filing Nos.: 333-259133 and 811-23739
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On behalf of PGIM Private Real Estate Fund, Inc.
(the “Fund”), please find the Fund’s Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 (“Amendment No. 2”) to the
above referenced registration statement of the Fund originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”)
on August 27, 2021, pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Investment Company
Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Company Act”) (the “Registration Statement”), through the Commission’s
electronic data gathering, analysis and retrieval (“EDGAR”) system.
In addition, we are providing the following responses
to comments received by phone from the staff of the Commission (the “Staff”) on January 13, 2022, relating to Pre-Effective
Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement, which was filed on November 17, 2021. Please note that all page numbers
in our responses are references to the page numbers of Amendment No. 2. All capitalized terms used but not defined in this letter
have the meanings given to them in Amendment No. 2.
1. Prospectus
Summary – Leverage. We note that the registration statement states “The Fund also expects its investments will utilize
property level debt financing (mortgages on the Fund’s properties that are not recourse to the Fund except in extremely limited
circumstances).” Please further explain what those limited circumstances are in which debt would be recourse to the Fund.
Response:
The Prospectus Summary and Prospectus include the following disclosure under the headings “Summary of Risks—Recourse Financings
Risk” and “Risks—Recourse Financings Risk” on pages 14 and 48:
Recourse
Financings Risk. In certain cases, financings for the Fund’s commercial real estate properties may be recourse to the
Fund. Lenders customarily require that a creditworthy parent entity enter into so-called “recourse carveout” guarantees to
protect the lender against certain bad-faith or other intentional acts of the borrower in violation of the loan documents. A “bad
boy” guarantee typically provides that the lender can recover losses from the guarantors for certain bad acts, such as fraud or
intentional misrepresentation, intentional waste, willful misconduct, criminal acts, misappropriation of funds, voluntary incurrence of
prohibited debt and environmental losses sustained by lender. The Fund’s “bad boy” guarantees could apply to actions
of the joint venture partners associated with the Fund’s investments. While the Manager expects to negotiate indemnities from such
joint venture partners to protect against such risks, there remains the possibility that the acts of such joint venture partner could
result in liability to the Fund under such guarantees.
Accordingly, the Fund has added the following cross-reference to the
“Leverage” section of the Prospectus Summary referenced in this Comment.
In certain limited cases, property level debt may be recourse
to the Fund. See “Risks—Recourse Financings Risk.”
2. General.
Please update us on the status of the Fund’s “co-investment application” and confirm whether the Fund is waiting to
request effectiveness of the Registration Statement until it has obtained a “co-investment order.”
Response:
The Fund filed the referenced application for exemptive relief on April 22, 2022. The Fund does not currently intend to wait until
it receives such exemptive relief before requesting effectiveness of the Registration Statement.
3. Portfolio
Composition – Investments in Properties: Ownership Structure. Please add the following sentence under the header “Ownership
Structure”:
For any entity that the Fund primarily controls, which
engages in investment activities in securities or other assets, the Fund will treat the entity’s debt as its own under Section 18
of the Investment Company Act.
Response:
The Fund has added the following sentence under the header “Ownership Structure:”
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For any Controlled Subsidiary, the Fund will treat the entity’s
debt as its own under Section 18 of the Investment Company Act.
The Fund notes that the term “Controlled Subsidiary” is
defined in Amendment No. 2 as discussed below in the response to Comment 4.
4. Leverage.
Please replace the sentence that begins “When such property level debt is not recourse to the Fund . . .” with:
When such property level debt is not recourse to the Fund,
and the entity holding such debt was not formed for the purpose of avoiding the Investment Company Act limitations on leverage, the Fund
will not treat such borrowings as senior securities (as defined in the Investment Company Act) for purposes of complying with the Investment
Company Act’s limitations on leverage unless (i) the entity holding such debt is an entity that engages in investment activities
in securities or other assets and is primarily controlled by the fund, including a wholly owned or majority owned subsidiary, or (ii) the
financial statements of the entity or joint venture holding such debt would be consolidated in the Fund’s financial statements.
Response:
The Fund has revised the referenced disclosure as follows (marked against the disclosure in Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the
Registration Statement):
When such property level debt is not recourse to the Fund,
and the entity holding such debt was not formed for the purpose of avoiding the Investment Company Act
limitations on leverage, the Fund will not treat such borrowings as senior securities (as defined in the Investment Company
Act) for purposes of complying with the Investment Company Act’s limitations on leverage unless (i) the
operating entity is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund, (ii) the Fund has sole majority control over the governance of a joint
venture (which excludes shared control arrangements where the consents of both the Fund and another party are required for all material
decisions) or (iii) (i) the entity holding such debt is an entity that engages
in investment activities in securities or other assets and is primarily controlled by the Fund, including a subsidiary where the Fund
owns all or a majority of the voting securities of the subsidiary (“Controlled Subsidiary”), or (ii) the financial
statements of the operating entity or joint venture holding such debt will
would be consolidated in the Fund’s financial statements.
5. Cover
Page – Leverage. On the cover page, under the subsection entitled “Leverage,” please repeat or include a summary
of the first two paragraphs found under the header “Leverage” on page 43 of the Prospectus.
Response:
The Fund has updated its disclosure accordingly.
6. Leverage
Risk. Please make corresponding changes to the last full paragraph under “Leverage Risk,” which includes identical non-recourse
debt language as above.
Response:
The Fund has made substantially corresponding changes to the last full paragraph, as described in response to Comment 4.
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Please call me (212-455-2516) with any questions
you may have regarding this filing or if you wish to discuss the above responses.
Sincerely,
/s/ Benjamin Wells
cc: Andrea Ottomanelli Magovern, Securities and Exchange Commission
Sumeera Younis, Securities and Exchange Commission
Claudia DiGiacomo, Esq.
Debra Rubano, Esq.
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