Blackstone is acquiring North American property company Tricon Residential in a $3.5bn (€3.2bn) take-private deal.
The manager’s Blackstone Real Estate Partners X and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) have agreed to buy NYSE and TSX-listed Tricon’s shares at $11.25 each, a price that represents a 30% premium to Tricon’s last closing share price.
BREIT will maintain its approximately 11% ownership stake post-closing.
Tricon provides rental homes and apartments, along with resident services through its tech-enabled operating platform. Tricon serves communities in high-growth markets such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Tampa and Phoenix as well as Toronto, Canada.
In addition to managing a single-family rental housing portfolio, Tricon has a single-family rental development platform in the US with approximately 2,500 houses under development, as well as numerous land development projects that can support the future development of nearly 21,000 single-family homes.
The company also has a Canadian multifamily development platform that is building approximately 5,500 market-rate and affordable multifamily rental apartments.
Under Blackstone’s ownership, Tricon is expected to double down on rental housing, with $1bn for US single-family homes and $2.5bn for Canadian apartments, while investing $1bn more in existing US properties.
Gary Berman, president and CEO of Tricon, said: “We are proud of the significant and immediate value that this transaction will deliver to our shareholders, while allowing us to continue providing an exceptional rental experience for our residents.
”Blackstone shares our values and our unwavering commitment to resident satisfaction, and we look forward to benefitting from their expertise and capital as we partner in building thriving communities.”
Nadeem Meghji, global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate, said: “Tricon provides access to high-quality housing, and we are fully committed to delivering an exceptional resident experience together.
”We are excited that our capital will propel Tricon’s efforts to add much-needed housing supply across the US and in Toronto, Canada.”
Peter Sacks, chair of the special committee and independent lead director of Tricon, said: “Following a thoughtful and comprehensive process, the special committee and board concluded that the transaction with Blackstone is in the best interests of Tricon and its shareholders, and that the transaction price represents compelling and certain value for Tricon’s shares.”
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