Blackstone to Acquire Apartment Income REIT in $10B Take-Private Deal
Blackstone Real Estate will take Apartment Income REIT Corp. (AIR Communities) private in an all-cash transaction valued at $10 billion, adding that it is its largest-ever apartment portfolio acquisition.
Blackstone Real Estate Partners X will acquire all outstanding AIR Communities shares for $39.12 per share, including debt. Blackstone intends to invest more than $400 million to improve and maintain AIR’s rental housing portfolio.
The purchase price represents a premium of 25% to AIR Communities’ closing share price on April 5, the last trading day prior to the announcement of the transaction.
AIR Communities’ portfolio consists of 76 high-quality rental housing communities concentrated primarily in coastal markets including Miami, Los Angeles, Boston and Washington, D.C. In total, the portfolio has 27,010 apartments located in 10 states and Washington, D.C.
“AIR Communities represents the highest quality, large scale apartment portfolio we have ever acquired, and is located in markets where multifamily fundamentals are strong,” said Nadeem Meghji, global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate. “We are very impressed by the terrific operating team at AIR Communities and look forward to working closely with them, while continuing to deliver a fantastic resident experience.”
Blackstone X closed in April 2023 with $30.4 billion. The fund sparked widespread interest among public U.S. pensions, including the City and County of San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System ($125 million), the Teachers’ Retirement System of Texas ($300 million), the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (up to $300 million), and the Minnesota State Board of Investment ($200 million).
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter. As a condition to the deal, AIR Communities has suspended payment of its quarterly dividend, effective immediately.
The transaction follows Blackstone’s January agreement to pay nearly $3.5 billion for Tricon Residential, which owns, operates, and develops a portfolio of single-family rental homes.
