Real Estate Acquisitions in 2020

Move, Inc., operator of realtor.com and a News Corp subsidiary, acquired Chicago-based Avail, a platform serving DIY landlords and renters with online rental management tools. The acquisition expands realtor.com's capabilities and audience in the residential rental market by integrating Avail's listing content, workflow tools and customer base into realtor.com's platform.

Leeds-headquartered Linley & Simpson has acquired the rental portfolios of two Sheffield-based independent agencies, Lewis Wadsworth and Sheffield Residential, transferring about 750 homes into its management. The deals expand Linley & Simpson’s Yorkshire footprint and represent add-on acquisitions to the LDC-backed lettings platform as it grows its branch network and portfolio.

FirstPort, backed by private equity firm Equistone, has acquired the residential property management arm of Chamonix Estates. The deal brings roughly 54,000 customers and about 100 employees into the FirstPort group, strengthening its residential property management capability and customer base in the United Kingdom.

Capital Title of Texas acquired GPS Title, Inc. (dba Porter Title Company) in a transaction that closed on November 30, 2020; terms were not disclosed. Generational Equity advised GPS Title on the sale—GPS Title is a long-established title and escrow provider in Granbury, Texas, while Capital Title (headquartered in Plano, Texas) is a large independent title and escrow operator expanding its branch network.

Front Yard Residential Corporation agreed to amend its definitive merger agreement with a partnership led by Pretium and including funds managed by Ares Management to increase the cash consideration to $16.25 per share, valuing the company at approximately $2.5 billion (including assumed/refinanced debt). The Front Yard board recommended the amended agreement following a competing unsolicited proposal; the transaction was expected to close in Q1 2021, subject to stockholder approval and customary conditions.

Valedo Partners III AB has invested to establish Sefbo, a newly created group combining more than 15 local service companies that supply technical, winter, gardening and financial services to housing cooperatives across Norway. The consolidated group has around 500 employees, serves roughly 2,000 housing cooperatives and will be led by CEO Tommy Fredriksen; terms were not disclosed.

Cushman & Wakefield has acquired substantially all of the assets of Triad Commercial Properties, a Winston-Salem and Greensboro-based commercial brokerage specializing in office and industrial advisory. The Triad team — founded by Hap Royster and Tom Townes — will join Cushman & Wakefield to strengthen the firm's presence in the North Carolina Triad and leverage Cushman & Wakefield's global platform for expanded client service.

Marcus & Millichap, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mission Capital, a national real estate capital markets advisory firm, in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter. The acquisition brings roughly 40 capital markets professionals and expands Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation's loan sale, debt and equity placement, and consulting capabilities.

Chicago-based property manager Westward360 has acquired the community association managed portfolio of Pabcor Management, expanding its footprint in the northwest Chicago suburbs around Prospect Heights, Illinois. The deal adds several thousand residential units to Westward360's portfolio, brings some Pabcor staff into Westward360, and supports local growth and operational efficiencies.

HomeRiver Group acquired Property Frameworks from Realogy Brokerage Group, creating the largest third‑party residential property management company in the U.S. The deal expands HomeRiver Group's footprint from 14 to 22 states and increases combined homes under management to approximately 25,000; financial terms were not disclosed.

Sun Communities, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Safe Harbor Marinas, LLC for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.11 billion. Safe Harbor will operate as a standalone subsidiary led by its existing management team, providing Sun with a new marina platform that diversifies its geographic and customer footprint and is expected to be accretive to 2021 Core FFO per share.

PHM Group, majority owned by a fund managed by Norvestor, has agreed to acquire Kotikatu Holding Oy, a leading residential property maintenance services provider in Finland. The transaction creates a larger Nordic residential property maintenance group with expanded presence across Finland and Sweden, accelerating PHM's Nordic expansion and consolidation strategy as a Norvestor-backed platform.

EQT IX (advised by EQT Partners) has agreed to acquire Casa.it, one of Italy's leading online real estate classifieds platforms, from funds advised by Oakley Capital. EQT will support Casa.it's continued growth by investing in its online platform and expanding value-add services while Casa's management team will remain in place.

Berkadia has acquired LIHTC Advisors, an Idaho-based brokerage specializing in Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and affordable housing transactions. The LIHTC Advisors team, led by Jeff Irish and Brandon Grisham, will join Berkadia Affordable to expand Berkadia's affordable housing advisory and investment-sales capabilities and broaden its market presence.

Transactly, a tech-enabled real estate transaction platform, acquired On Target Transactions to expand its network of transaction coordinators and deepen service coverage in key U.S. markets. The deal brings On Target’s team into Transactly (with leadership retained) to improve capacity and presence in markets including Texas, Colorado and North Carolina.

HomeLight, the San Francisco–based real estate technology platform, acquired Disclosures.io, a listing management software provider, to launch HomeLight Listing Management nationwide. The acquisition integrates Disclosures.io’s listing, buyer-interest reporting, and offer-management tools into HomeLight’s suite of transaction products to simplify and accelerate residential real estate closings.

The Avalon Management Group has acquired the assets, staff and accounts of S & L Association Management, Inc., a Temecula-based community/HOA management firm, with the transition effective September 1, 2020. The acquisition expands Avalon's footprint across Southern California and brings S & L's clients and team into Avalon's regional association management platform.

Cabins for YOU, a family-owned Gatlinburg vacation rental operator, has acquired Chalet Village and launched the Chalet Village by Cabins for YOU arm. The deal transfers about 10 employees and six contract cleaners to Cabins for YOU and expands its portfolio of short-term rental properties in the Ski Mountain area of Gatlinburg.

TKO Suites (Turn Key Office Suites) acquired Source Management, Inc. (Source Office Suites), a four-location provider of serviced office suites in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The deal closed July 20, 2020; terms were not disclosed and Generational Equity advised the seller.

FirstPort, the UK residential property manager backed by Equistone Partners Europe, is combining with property and asset manager Mainstay Group in an add-on acquisition intended to strengthen FirstPort's geographic footprint and service offering. The transaction was announced subject to Financial Conduct Authority approval and was later cleared and completed to form an enlarged residential property management group.

OJO Labs announced the acquisition of Movoto, a fast-growing residential real estate search site, as it closed a $62.5 million funding round led by Wafra. The deal combines Movoto's consumer-first search and large audience (nearly 24 million monthly visits) with OJO's AI-driven personalized homebuying platform to scale reach and enhance its consumer guidance capabilities.

Leeds-headquartered lettings specialist Linley & Simpson has acquired the Hull branch and lettings portfolio of Link Agency group and has also bought independent Leeds lettings agency Dawson Wake. The deals, completed for undisclosed sums, expand Linley & Simpson's footprint across Yorkshire and increase its managed properties beyond 9,500; the business is PE-backed by LDC and is executing an active add-on acquisition strategy.

Novo Holdings has made a triple‑digit million euro minority investment to acquire a 25% stake in Nordic Real Estate Partners (NREP), becoming the first external investor in the partner-based company. The capital will help NREP accelerate investments in technology, sustainability and organizational capabilities as it pursues international growth; Novo Holdings' Morten Beck Jørgensen will join NREP's board.

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) made a strategic minority investment in SitusAMC, joining Stone Point Capital as a long-term capital partner. Stone Point remains the largest shareholder and additional shares are held by SitusAMC management; the investment is intended to support SitusAMC's next phase of growth and transformation in the real estate finance industry.

HouseCanary, a San Francisco–based real estate valuation and analytics company, has acquired Dropmodel, a web-based financial modeling and analytics startup for single-family real estate investors. The acquisition will integrate Dropmodel’s modeling capabilities into HouseCanary’s data and valuation platform to expand offerings for investor clients; terms were not disclosed.

Marcus & Millichap, through its Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (MMCC) subsidiary, has acquired Dallas-based Metropolitan Capital Advisors (MCA), a commercial real estate finance intermediary. The acquisition brings MCA's team and lender relationships into MMCC to expand its capital markets product offerings and strengthen financing coverage, particularly in Texas and the Southwest.

biproxi, an end-to-end commercial real estate platform, acquired OfficeSpace.com to consolidate CRE listings and historical data onto the OfficeSpace.com site. The deal brings together biproxi’s broker-focused tools with OfficeSpace.com’s large listing database to expand biproxi’s marketplace and product capabilities; OfficeSpace.com founder Susie Algard will join biproxi’s advisory board.

Cushman & Wakefield has acquired Colvill Office Properties, a Houston-based office agency leasing firm that directs leasing and marketing for roughly 17 million square feet of Class-A office space. The acquisition strengthens Cushman & Wakefield's investor services and office-leasing capabilities in the Houston market and brings the Colvill leadership team into Cushman's Houston organization.

Nautic Partners, in partnership with AKAM management, completed a management-led investment and recapitalization of AKAM, a provider of residential and commercial property management, leasing, capital project management, and brokerage services. The partnership will support AKAM's service expansion and technology investments while keeping the existing management team in place.

LDC-backed Linley & Simpson has acquired the lettings book of Inghams and completed a deal with Henleys Property Group, expanding its Yorkshire footprint and opening a new office in Bingley. The add-ons increase the agency's rental portfolio by almost 400 properties (taking it past 9,000) and include the transfer of staff from both businesses; terms were undisclosed.

Nationwide Property & Appraisal Services LLC, a portfolio company of Corridor Capital, completed the acquisition of Olde City Lending Solutions LLC, an appraisal management company based in Warminster, Pennsylvania. The add-on expands Nationwide’s foothold in the Northeast, adds local market expertise and compliance capabilities, and strengthens the platform’s national appraisal and property services scale.

Edison Partners led a $9.5 million growth investment in Houwzer, a Philadelphia-based, technology-enabled real estate brokerage. The capital will be used to expand Houwzer into additional U.S. markets, strengthen its technology platform, and launch owned mortgage, title and home insurance services.

Cushman & Wakefield has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Pinnacle Property Management Services, the third-largest U.S. multifamily property manager, which oversees more than 169,000 units across 839 properties. The acquisition establishes Cushman & Wakefield's U.S. multifamily property management platform across 20 key markets and is subject to customary closing conditions.

BBG, a national commercial real estate due diligence firm based in Dallas, has acquired Herr Valuation Advisors (HVA), a Tampa-based real estate appraisal firm. The acquisition expands BBG's valuation and appraisal capabilities in the Tampa market and brings HVA's founder and six staff into BBG's Tampa office.

Grace Hill announced the acquisition of Kingsley Associates on January 21, 2020, combining Grace Hill’s talent performance and training solutions with Kingsley’s customer insights, survey and benchmarking capabilities for the real estate industry. The deal is intended to connect resident and tenant insights to team performance, enhancing Grace Hill’s offerings for multifamily and commercial property managers, owners, and investors.

Livingbridge has reinvested in Sykes Holiday Cottages, joining existing investor Vitruvian Partners to support the UK holiday-home provider’s next stage of organic and acquisitive growth. Sykes, headquartered in Chester, currently manages around 19,000 properties after recent bolt-on acquisitions and will use the capital to continue its growth and digital investment.

Kensington Vanguard National Land Services has acquired GRS Title Services, LLC, the title operations subsidiary of GRS Group. The acquisition expands Kensington Vanguard’s commercial title footprint (adding Arizona and Missouri) and bolsters its presence in Dallas and the greater Washington, D.C. metro area.