What Equity International does

Equity International is a Chicago-based institutional investment management firm founded in 1999 by Sam Zell and registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The firm deploys institutional capital into real estate, infrastructure, and related operating companies across global growth markets, operating through six fund vintages (ZEI Fund I through VI) and eight additional co-investment and regional vehicles, including the ZEI Asia Logistics Fund and co-invest vehicles for Andean Telecom Partners, Acosta Verde, Estapar, ARG Realty, and Decameron. Over 20 years, the firm has executed 31 investments spanning six continents, with notable exits including IPOs of Gafisa (Bovespa/NYSE, 2006–2007), BR Malls (Bovespa, 2007), Xinyuan Real Estate (NYSE, 2007), Homex (BMV/NYSE, 2004), Acosta Verde (2020), and SAMHI Hotels (India, 2023).

The firm's revenue model is based on management fees and carried interest charged on assets under management across its fund and co-investment vehicles, distributed exclusively through private placement memoranda to accredited institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices. The go-to-market relies on direct institutional relationships, Sam Zell's network, and the broader Zell Organization ecosystem—which includes Equity Group Investments, Chai Trust Company, and the Zell Family Office—rather than retail distribution channels. The firm does not publicly disclose fee schedules, AUM, or financial performance.

Following founder Sam Zell's death in May 2023, the firm continues operations under CEO Tom Heneghan, a 30-year veteran of the Zell organization and former CEO of Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE: ELS). The leadership team comprises CIO Ed Slapansky (ex-Blackstone, AllianceBernstein), CFOO Lisa Reichenbach (ex-KPMG), CCO & VP of IR Nicole Moy, Portfolio Manager Eduardo Romero (ex-BTG Pactual), and CLO Darrin Forbes, supported by a small lean team. The firm is privately held within the Zell Organization and continues to originate and execute growth-market investments while monetizing its existing portfolio.

Name

Equity International

Legal name

Equity International

Website

https://equityinternational.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Equity International is a Chicago-based, SEC-registered institutional investment manager founded in 1999 by Sam Zell that deploys capital through six funds and eight co-investment vehicles into real estate, infrastructure, and operating companies across global growth markets for institutional limited partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity / Growth Market Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Finance Services (6199), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE)

Keywords

• Private equity investing
• Growth market investments
• Real estate funds
• Infrastructure investing
• Institutional fund management

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fund Management: EI generates revenue through management fees and performance fees (carried interest) from their 6 funds and 8 additional investment vehicles. As an investment adviser registered with the SEC, they charge fees based on assets under management and fund performance.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Equity International is an SEC-registered institutional investment adviser that manages a series of private investment funds and co-investment vehicles (collectively the ZEI Funds) targeting real estate, infrastructure, and related operating companies in global growth markets. The firm sources, underwrites, structures, and actively manages equity investments, providing portfolio companies with institutional governance, business plan execution support, and access to capital markets across six continents.

Product overview

Equity International is an investment management firm offering a platform of investment funds and co-investment vehicles targeting real estate, infrastructure, and related sectors across global growth markets. The product suite consists of ZEI Fund VI as the primary current vehicle, supplemented by various co-investment vehicles (ZEI ATP Co-Invest, ZEI AV Fund, ZEI Estapar Co-Invest, ZEI ARG Co-Invest, ZEI Decameron Co-Invest) that provide targeted exposure to specific portfolio companies and sectors. Regional vehicles like ZEI Asia Logistics Fund focus on specific geographies (Japan logistics). Prior funds (ZEI Fund I through V) have been fully deployed or exited. The firm also maintains a portfolio of operating companies including Stanza (student housing, India), Homie (residential rental platform, Mexico), Andean Telecom Partners, Estapar, Acosta Verde, Decameron, GuardeAqui (self-storage, Brazil), and SAMHI (hotels, India).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ZEI Fund VI
• ZEI ATP Co-Invest
• ZEI AV Fund
• ZEI Estapar Co-Invest
• ZEI ARG Co-Invest
• ZEI Asia Logistics Fund
• ZEI Decameron Co-Invest

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Digital BridgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital Bridge founded Andean Telecom Partners (ATP), a portfolio company of EI. ATP owns and operates telecom infrastructure solutions through cellphone towers, small cell networks, and distributed antenna systems in the Andean region.
• Black Creek GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTogether with the Black Creek Group, EI led the transformation of a limited-scope development company into Corporate Properties of the Americas (CPA), an institutional-quality industrial property operating platform in Mexico.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• TPG: Large alternatives manager with diversified strategies including real estate and growth-market exposure—an incumbent operating broadly in institutional private fund management.
• Blackstone: World's largest alternatives manager with major real estate and infrastructure franchises serving institutional LPs—an incumbent operating in the same broad asset class with much greater scale than EI.
• KKR: Global alternatives manager with real assets, infrastructure, and private equity strategies for institutional investors—overlaps with EI in real-asset institutional fund management at much larger scale.
• GIC: Singapore sovereign wealth fund and a major direct investor in growth-market real estate and infrastructure—an LP-type incumbent with comparable real-asset deployment at scale.

Direct peers

• ESR Group: Asia-Pacific logistics and real estate investment manager; ESR traces its origins to the 2016 e-Shang/Redwood merger that EI helped sponsor and is housed in the Zell ecosystem—a directly comparable logistics/real estate platform spun out of an EI-backed vehicle.
• Actis: London-headquartered private equity firm focused exclusively on growth markets (Africa, Asia, Latin America), investing across real estate, infrastructure, and private equity—directly comparable to Equity International's mandate, fund structure, and target geographies.
• Brookfield Asset Management: One of the world's largest real estate and infrastructure investment managers with flagship private fund vintages serving institutional LPs—directly comparable to EI's business model of raising closed-end funds and co-invest vehicles that target real assets.
• Macquarie Asset Management: Global asset manager with the world's largest infrastructure investment platform, running flagship infrastructure and real estate funds for institutional investors—comparable mandate and LP base to EI's.
• Helios Investment Partners: Pan-African private equity firm raising closed-end funds from institutional LPs to invest across Africa and other growth markets—comparable institutional fund model and growth-market thematic focus.

Others

• International Finance Corporation (IFC): World Bank Group's emerging-markets development finance arm and one of the largest institutional investors in growth-market private equity and infrastructure—operates as a major capital allocator in the same geographies EI serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/equity-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Equity International