PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwired - Dec 24, 2014) - Resource America, Inc. (NASDAQ: REXI) (the "Company") announces it has expanded its real estate asset management operations by entering into an arrangement with Pearlmark Real Estate Partners, L.L.C. ("PREP") to create a strategic 50/50 joint venture with the principals of PREP. Based in Chicago, PREP is an experienced and highly regarded real estate investment manager that has sponsored a series of private institutional real estate vehicles to (i) acquire, develop and manage office, retail, industrial and multifamily properties, and (ii) invest in proprietarily originated high-yield real estate debt opportunities throughout the United States. Through its platforms, it has committed approximately $4.5 billion of equity capital from an investor base including insurance companies, public and private pension funds, foundations, endowments, high net worth families, banks and Fortune 500 corporations, and has approximately 35 employees.

PREP is led by Stephen R. Quazzo, a widely recognized real estate industry veteran. Before co-founding PREP in 1996, he served as President of Equity Institutional Investors, Inc., a subsidiary of investor Sam Zell's private holding company. Prior to joining the Zell organization, Mr. Quazzo was a Vice President in the Real Estate Department of Goldman, Sachs & Co. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Starwood Hotels and Resorts (NYSE: HOT) for the past 20 years and is a member and past Trustee of the Urban Land Institute. Mr. Quazzo holds undergraduate and MBA degrees from Harvard University where he serves as an HAA Director and member of the Board of Dean's Advisors for the business school. Rounding out the senior executive team of PREP are Dirk Degenaars, J. Matthew Haley, Douglas W. Lyons and Edward J. Ryder, all of whom have been with the organization an average of 17 years.

This new venture will be known as Pearlmark Real Estate, L.L.C. ("Pearlmark") and will sponsor and manage all new funds and investment strategies under the Pearlmark banner. Stephen R. Quazzo and Jonathan Z. Cohen, President and CEO of the Company, will make up the Executive Committee. Together they will provide strategic guidance and leadership to Pearlmark and its management team. The closing of the Company's joint venture investment is subject to customary closing conditions.

Jonathan Cohen said: "This transaction is strategically important to Resource America in that it supplements our very strong retail capital raising network with PREP's proven ability to raise significant capital from a broad institutional investor base. Steve Quazzo has built a superb real estate asset management organization that strongly complements ours, and we are excited to work with his team to build and grow Resource America's capital raising, assets under management, and real estate investing capabilities through this new strategic joint venture."

Added Stephen Quazzo: "We share in Jonathan's excitement and emphatically believe that this combination with Resource America significantly strengthens Pearlmark's platform and allows us to meaningfully expand our real estate investment management business -- starting immediately with our next series of fund offerings."

Resource America, Inc. is an asset management company that specializes in real estate and credit investments. The Company's objective is to be best in class among asset managers in the real estate and credit sectors as measured by returns to investors and the quality of the funds and businesses it manages. Resource America's investments emphasize consistent value and long-term returns with an income orientation. For more information please visit our website at www.resourceamerica.com or contact Marketing and Investor Relations at pkamdar@resourceamerica.com.

Certain matters discussed within this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include financial performance, regulatory changes, changes in local or national economic conditions and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the SEC, including quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, reports on Form 8-K and annual reports on Form 10-K. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statement to reflect new or changing information or events.