The Cogsville Group and Colony Capital purchased two commercial real estate portfolios of more than 700 loans from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Monday. The purchase is a conglomeration of distressed assets from 14 failed financial institutions, received by the FDIC in 2010. The total unpaid principal balance of the two portfolios is $341 million. They consist of both performing and non-performing commercial real estate loans centralized in the Western and Northern U.S. The Western portfolio, which is concentrated in the Salt Lake City area, was purchased at 60% of the unpaid principal balance, while the Northern portfolio, concentrated in Michigan, was purchased at 27% of the unpaid principal. Donald Cogsville, chief executive of The Cogsville Group, believes the areas in which the loans are located “will continue to lead the nation in job creation and dramatically increase the value of the portfolio,” as well as show renewed economic growth. “I believe this is a unique opportunity to purchase distressed real estate assets of commercial banks holding more than $250 billion of non-performing loans, and of special servicers holding another $70 billion,” Cogsville said. The portfolio purchases mark the second and third purchases Cogsville and Colony Capital have made as part of a strategic partnership. This summer, the two firms successfully bid on a $1.85 billion distressed CRE portfolio from the FDIC. This year, Cogsville and Colony Capital have acquired more than 2,300 CRE loans totaling more than $2 billion, according to Cogsville. WL Ross & Co., Invesco Ltd. and Mount Kellett Capital were included in this most recent deal to acquire the portfolios. Milestone Advisors was hired as a financial advisor for the deal. The Cogsville Group is a private equity firm based in New York that invests in real estate through its investment fund, Cogsville Capital Partners Fund I. Colony Capital is an investment firm based in Santa Monica, Calif. Write to Christine Ricciardi.