Report: AvalonBay, Equity Residential in Talks for Possible Merger

AvalonBay Communities Inc. and Equity Residential (EQR) are considering a potential combination that could reshape the US apartment market, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The two REITs, which are among the biggest apartment developers in the U.S., have held exploratory talks over what would be one of the largest real estate deals ever.

Between them, AvalonBay and EQR control about 185,000 apartments across 600-plus properties, reported Bloomberg. Each company has a market capitalization of about $25 billion.

A merger of AvalonBay and EQR would have broad implications for the U.S. housing market as affordability has become a top political and economic issue, according to Bloomberg. Given the size and reach of the companies, a deal would also likely draw heavy antitrust scrutiny. Deliberations are at a preliminary stage and there’s no guarantee that they will lead to a transaction, the sources told Bloomberg.

Pictured: EQR’s Murray Hill Tower Apartments in New York City.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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