Watermark principals buy California lender Val-Chris, backed by Chicago Atlantic
What's the deal? Watermark Commercial Contractors principals Ryan Larson and Chris Kopacek have acquired Val-Chris Investments, an Irvine, California private real-estate lender operating since 1975. Chicago AtlanticDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → provided a senior secured credit facility to fund the deal. Terms were undisclosed.
Who's who? Watermark, founded in 1993 in Dripping Springs, Texas, is a multifamily general contractor focused on affordable and LIHTC housing that has built over 50,000 units. Larson and Kopacek also run Lonestar Development Partners, an Austin-based multifamily and build-for-rent developer founded in 2015.
What's the endgame? Val-Chris originates, places, and services loans secured by residential and commercial real estate across eight states, funding through more than 5,000 private investors. The acquisition adds a lending and servicing platform alongside the principals' construction and development businesses.
The financing lets the principals close the deal and provides growth capital as the business scales. Westlake SecuritiesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an Austin middle-market investment bank, served as exclusive financial advisor.
What they said: "Val-Chris has built a durable lending and servicing platform over five decades, and Ryan and Chris bring the operating and capital experience to scale it," said Jay Fabian, managing director at Chicago Atlantic.
The signal: The move extends two Texas builders into real-estate lending and servicing, pairing construction expertise with an established loan platform. For Chicago Atlantic, which has closed over $4.4 billion in credit facilities since inception, the deal fits its model of senior secured loans to underserved borrowers rather than a broad sector shift.
Read more: prnewswire.com
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