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AvalonBay and Equity Residential to merge in a $71B multifamily deal
The all-stock merger would create Vivmark Residential, owning more than 180,000 apartments across over 600 communities, plus 10,800 apartments and $4.4 billion under construction.
AvalonBay Communities will merge with Equity Residential in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $71 billion, making it the largest public REIT merger ever, Commercial Observer reports. The transaction brings together AvalonBay’s 98,000 apartments and about $25 billion market capitalization with Equity Residential’s 85,000 apartments and $20.5 billion in assets under management.
Commercial Observer adds that AvalonBay and Equity Residential said their new company will be named Vivmark Residential. When the merger closes later this year, the combined firm is expected to own more than 180,000 rental apartments across more than 600 U.S. communities, with additional 10,800 apartments and $4.4 billion in apartments under construction across 32 communities.
The firms also said half of the developments under construction will include an affordable or mixed-income component. The outlet notes that the deal was announced in late July, following an initial market reaction on May 21.
Commercial Observer writes that analysts framed the merger as a “merger of equals,” citing overlap in the companies’ multifamily focus. JLL Income Property Trust CEO Allan Swaringen said the two REITs are among the largest players in the multifamily marketplace, while Motley Fool analyst Matt Frankel pointed to the companies’ shared market footprint, including New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington, D.C.