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Key Takeaways
- Equity Residential has agreed to pay Blackstone Real Estate $964 million for 11 apartment properties.
- The complexes are situated in Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Denver, locations it is targeting for expansion.
- Equity Residential said the units are attractive to its “higher end renter demographic.”
Shares of Equity Residential (EQR) fell Wednesday after the real estate investment trust (REIT) announced it had agreed to purchase 11 apartment properties from Blackstone’s (BX) real estate unit in separate deals valued at approximately $964 million.
It is the largest purchase of apartments by a public REIT in seven years, The Wall Street Journal said.
Apartments in Targeted Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Denver Markets
Equity Residential said the apartments are situated in the company’s targeted areas of expansion of Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Denver, and total 3,572 units. It noted that the units “are attractive to Equity Residential’s higher end renter demographic and accelerate its growth in these markets.”
Chicago-based Equity Residential, which owns or has investments in about 300 properties consisting of roughly 80,000 apartment units, said the transactions are expected to close this quarter.
Equity Residential shares slipped 1.8% to $70.11 as of 2:50 p.m. ET Wednesday but remain up about 15% for the year. Blackstone shares, which began the day essentially flat for the year, fell about 2.3% to $127.38.