Apartment REIT Equity Residential Selling Assets for $5.4 Billion
Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) announced Oct. 26 that it has agreed to sell more than 23,000 apartment units in mainly suburban locations to private equity firm Starwood Capital Group for $ 5.37 billion.
The deal involves 72 properties located in South Florida, Denver, Washington, Seattle and California’s Inland Empire. The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016. Starwood will pay approximately $ 230,634 per unit.
Steadfast Apartment REIT Expands in Texas
In the latest episode of the NAREIT Podcast, Ella Shaw Neyland, president of Steadfast Apartment REIT, discussed the firm’s latest acquisitions in the Texas market and looked at the broader dynamics of the multifamily market in the United States.
Campus Crest Agrees to Sale to Private Equity Firm
Student housing REIT Campus Crest Communities, Inc. (NYSE: CCG) announced Oct. 16 that it has agreed to be purchased by affiliates of the private equity firm Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, LLC in a deal valued at approximately $ 1.9 billion.
Affordable Housing REIT CDT Expands into Charter Schools
Community Development Trust (CDT) has launched a new platform that provides long-term, fixed-rate financing for charter schools.
Founded in 1998, New York City-based CDT is a private, hybrid REIT that is active on the debt and equity side of affordable housing projects. CDT’s Charter School Lending Program, launched in September, aims to address the problems traditionally faced by charter schools in obtaining suitable financing, said Shelly Cleary, senior vice president of CDT.
Lamar Billboards Find New Life Once Taken Down
Lamar Advertising Co. (NASDAQ: LAMR) is ensuring that its billboards have a second lease on life once their advertising days are over.
Rather than ending up in a landfill, the billboards are repurposed by Los Angeles-based outdoor gear manufacturer Rareform into surfboard bags, backpacks, laptop sleeves, wallets, and other types of bags and accessories.
Poll: REITs Expected to Beat S&P 500 Index in Next Year
Real estate industry professionals expect REITs to outperform the S&P 500 Index during the next 12 months, according to a poll from BMO Capital Markets.
The poll of attendees at the BMO Capital Markets 10th Annual North American Real Estate Conference in Chicago shows that 45 percent of institutional investors expect REITs to outperform the S&P 500 Index by more than 3 percent in the next year, while 35 percent said REITs could outperform the benchmark by as much as 10 percent.
Real Estate and Technological Disruption
In the latest episode of the NAREIT Podcast, Bob O’Brien, partner and U.S. real estate services leader with Deloitte, analyzed the impact of technological disruption on the real estate industry.
Evercore ISI REIT Research Team Tops Analyst Rankings
Evercore ISI Group took first place honors in Institutional Investor magazine’s annual awards honoring the top REIT analyst teams.
The eight-member Evercore ISI team is led by Stephen Sakwa. ISI, which Evercore acquired in October 2014, held the top spot from 2010 to 2014.
Second place was awarded to the 11-member team at Citi, led by Michael Bilerman. This is the sixth consecutive year the Citi team has held second place.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s 10-member team, led by Jeffrey Spector, took third place for the third consecutive year.
Blackstone to Buy BioMed Realty in $8 Billion Transaction
BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: BMR) said Oct. 8 that private equity firm Blackstone Group L.P. has agreed to acquire the life sciences office and lab space REIT in an all-cash transaction valued at $ 8 billion.
Blackstone’s real estate arm, Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII, will pay $ 23.75 for each outstanding BioMed common share. This represents a premium of about 24 percent above the closing stock price on Sept. 22, the last date before speculation began about a potential sale of the company.