Berkshire Residential Investments has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Limekiln Real Estate Investment Management’s 50% interest in MF1 Process, giving Berkshire full ownership of the multifamily mortgage lending platform. Upon closing, MF1 will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire.
MF1 was established in 2018 as a 50/50 joint venture between Berkshire and Limekiln founder Scott Waynebern. Since its formation, the platform has originated approximately $32 billion of multifamily loans and has become a significant issuer of commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations.
The transaction will bring together Berkshire’s multifamily equity, securities and debt origination operations under a single organization.
Most Limekiln employees are expected to join Berkshire as part of the transaction.
Russ Avery will become Executive Managing Director, Capital Markets Investment, while Tom Keefe will serve as Executive Managing Director and Co-Head of MF1.
Michael Squires will become Senior Managing Director and Head of Production, and Sandy Vergano will serve as Executive Managing Director, Legal, Investments.
Jon Pfeil, a Partner at Berkshire, will become Chief Investment Officer of Berkshire’s Credit and Lending business and continue reporting to Eric Draeger, Partner and Chief Investment Officer.
Carolyn Burgess will continue as Partner and Chief Credit Officer. John Roach will become Executive Managing Director and Co-Head of MF1 alongside Keefe.
Waynebern will remain CEO of Limekiln, which plans to focus on building a new commercial real estate strategy outside multifamily debt.
Berkshire had approximately $34.7 billion of real estate assets under management as of June 30, 2026 and owns, manages or oversees approximately 480,000 residential units through equity and debt investments.
Limekiln reported approximately $17.5 billion of assets under management as of March 2026.
Berkshire Global Advisors is serving as financial advisor to Berkshire, while Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is serving as legal advisor. Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer is serving as legal advisor to Limekiln.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are thrilled to welcome the Limekiln team into the Berkshire family. The joint venture that we formed eight years ago with Limekiln has been very successful and we are pleased to now have fully integrated multifamily equity, securities and debt origination platforms. We look forward to serving our investors and borrowers as one Berkshire team.”
Eric Draeger, Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Berkshire Residential Investments
“I love being a builder of businesses and teams and am excited to go out and create again. The management textbooks all say JVs never work. This one did, which is a testament to the quality of people on both sides of the partnership. Combined into one team going forward at Berkshire, I expect MF1 to continue to be a market leader.”
Scott Waynebern, Founder and CEO of Limekiln Real Estate
