RAIT sells Taberna CDOs for $16.5M

RAIT Financial Trust, a Philadelphia specialty finance company, took a further step away from its operations in complicated securities that were central to the financial crisis.

For $16.5 million, RAIT sold the collateral management rights and responsibilities for eight Taberna securities, known as collateralized debt obligations, to affiliates of Fortress Investment Group L.L.C., the company said. The CDOs had $5.9 billion in assets under management.

RAIT, which said it was focusing on its core commercial real estate financing business, entered the CDO business with the acquisition of Taberna Realty Finance Trust.    - Harold Brubaker