CHICAGO AND NEW YORK CITY — Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) has agreed to acquire an 11-property apartment portfolio from Blackstone (NYSE: BX) for $964 million. The acquisition is the largest U.S. multifamily purchase by any public real estate investment trust in the past seven years, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal.
The portfolio includes four properties totaling 1,357 units in Atlanta; four properties totaling 1,237 units in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area; and three properties totaling 978 units in Denver. Further details on the communities were not disclosed.
The properties were attractive to Equity Residential — one of the largest owners of multifamily assets in the U.S. with 79,738 units across 299 properties — due to their locations in markets where the Chicago-based firm is targeting growth, as well as the properties’ appeal to high-end renters.
The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter and will include separate transactions with Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Blackstone Property Partners.
Eastdil Secured, RBC Capital Markets, Santander and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) acted as Blackstone’s financial advisors in the transaction. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as Blackstone’s legal counsel. Neal Gerber & Eisenberg, Hogan Lovells and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner served as Equity Residential’s legal counsel.
New York City-based Blackstone made headlines earlier this year when it acquired apartment REIT AIR Communities for $10 billion. “Rental housing remains one of our highest-conviction themes, and we continue to see strong fundamentals in attractive markets,” says Asim Hamid, senior managing director with Blackstone.
Blackstone is the largest owner of commercial real estate globally with $336 billion worth of investor capital under management. The company’s stock price closed at $127.59 per share on Wednesday, Aug. 7, up from $100.98 last year.
Equity Residential’s stock price closed at $70.04 per share yesterday, up from $63.40 one year ago.
—Katie Sloan