Real Estate Acquisitions in 2021

Starwood Capital Group, through a controlled affiliate, acquired a majority interest in the assets owned by Land Tejas, a Houston-based residential master-planned community developer. The transaction includes 10 communities with nearly 16,000 residential lots and various commercial assets; the deal provides liquidity to Land Tejas' owners while enabling Starwood to expand its single-family housing portfolio.

QuintoAndar has acquired the real estate operations of Grupo Navent, including portals and SaaS products such as Zonaprop, Imovelweb, Inmuebles24 and Tokko Broker. The deal consolidates QuintoAndar's position across Latin America by combining its marketplace experience with Navent's portfolio of classifieds and broker tools to expand capabilities and improve services for brokers and consumers.

Funds managed by Apollo Global Management, together with Miller Homes' existing management, have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Miller Homes Group Limited from Bridgepoint Group plc. Financial terms were not disclosed; the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and was expected to close in Q1 2022. Miller Homes is a leading U.K. homebuilder building ~4,000 homes annually with a medium-term target of 6,000 units.

Affiliates of Fortress Investment Group completed acquisitions of non-digital real estate assets and fund interests from DigitalBridge Group and five historical development/non-accrual assets from BrightSpire Capital for total consideration of approximately $730 million. The transactions make Fortress the general partner/manager for DigitalBridge's DCVR series and accelerate BrightSpire's portfolio rotation by selling select assets to Fortress.

PotlatchDeltic Corporation merged with Loutre Land and Timber Company, issuing 1.96 million shares of common stock and assuming $6.6 million of debt in exchange for Loutre's 51,340 acres of timberlands in southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana. The transaction is a bolt-on acquisition that expands PotlatchDeltic's timberland footprint and is expected to increase stable cash flows and support dividend growth.

An investment fund managed by Trinity Fund Advisors LLC (on behalf of Trinity GP Fund I L.P.) acquired a 50% interest in the 511‑key Omni San Diego Hotel from JMI Realty. Omni Hotels & Resorts retains the remaining 50% and will continue to manage the property. Trinity and Omni plan a multimillion‑dollar capital improvement program to renovate guestrooms, reimagine food & beverage, and reposition the hotel to capture higher-rated transient and group demand in the growing San Diego market.

Lomond Group, backed by private equity firm LDC, has acquired Scottish lettings and estate agency DJ Alexander. The add-on expands Lomond's managed portfolio (now ~9,500 properties in Scotland and 30,000 across the UK) and brings DJ Alexander's ~104 employees into the group as Lomond continues its buy-and-build consolidation of regional estate agents.

Yardi acquired and redesigned 42Floors.com, a commercial real‑estate listing and search platform, and integrated it into its CommercialEdge marketplace network. The move brings more than 320,000 nationwide listings into Yardi’s CommercialEdge ecosystem to expand listings, drive leads and enhance its CRE data and marketing capabilities. The site was purchased from Roni Mova of United Group.

Bonaventure acquired two luxury multifamily properties in Virginia—Messenger Place in Manassas and Magnolia Run in Virginia Beach—in separate off-market transactions financed via an $85 million Fannie Mae credit facility arranged by KeyBank. Messenger Place was purchased from owner/developer The Rector Companies for $25.5 million; Magnolia Run (200 units) was acquired for $52.1 million as part of Bonaventure's ongoing portfolio expansion in the Mid-Atlantic.

Independence Realty Trust (IRT) and Steadfast Apartment REIT (STAR) completed a strategic merger creating a combined public multifamily REIT retaining the Independence Realty Trust name and headquartered in Philadelphia. The combined company had an equity market capitalization of approximately $5.6 billion and an enterprise value of approximately $8.3 billion as of December 15, 2021; the companies expect about $28 million of annual synergies and identified nine non-core assets to sell to optimize the portfolio.

Upflex has acquired WorkClub, the UK aggregator of on-demand workspaces, and will integrate WorkClub's team and network into its platform to form Upflex EMEA with a new European HQ in London. The deal expands Upflex's footprint in the UK and Europe, adding roughly 500 UK locations (about 400,000 sq. ft.) and strengthening its enterprise-facing flexible workspace offering.

CubeSmart (NYSE: CUBE) closed the acquisition of LAACO, Ltd., owner of the Storage West self-storage platform, adding 59 properties across Southern California, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Houston. The deal expands CubeSmart's national footprint and was funded with proceeds from recent equity and unsecured senior note issuances.

Peachtree Hotel Group acquired the 207-key AC Hotel Miami Aventura and the 233-key Aloft Miami Aventura in Aventura, Florida. Peachtree's management arm, Peachtree Hospitality Management, will operate the properties as part of the firm's ongoing opportunistic hotel portfolio expansion in the Miami market; terms were not disclosed.

Aquavista, backed by mid-market private equity firm LDC, has acquired Castle Marinas, adding 11 marinas to Aquavista's portfolio to create a 29-marina group with over 5,000 berths across the UK. The deal was financed by LDC with debt facilities from Barings and strengthens Aquavista's position as a leading operator of residential and leisure moorings.

Leaders Romans Group (LRG), backed by private equity firm Bowmark Capital, has acquired four UK residential estate and lettings agencies — Dewhurst Lettings, Portico, Thorgills and Orchards of London — as part of its ongoing buy-and-build expansion. The deals strengthen LRG’s presence across the South West and London and continue a long-running consolidation strategy following Bowmark’s investment.

Houston-based Asset Living has acquired City Gate Property Group, a Dallas-based multi-family property management firm that manages roughly 10,000 units across Texas and Louisiana and employs about 400 people. The deal expands Asset Living’s portfolio, making it the largest multi-family property manager in Texas (approximately 75,946 units and 468 properties in-state) and one of the largest managers nationally with nearly 120,000 units under management.

BBG, a national commercial real estate valuation and assessment firm headquartered in Dallas, acquired Tampa-based appraisal firm Trigg, Catlett & Associates. The deal expands BBG's presence in Florida and the Southeast; terms were not disclosed and Trigg Catlett's staff joined BBG's Tampa office.

Sun Communities, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Park Holidays UK for approximately £950 million (about $1.3 billion). The acquisition gives Sun immediate scale in the UK with Park Holidays' ~40 owned and 2 managed holiday communities and is intended to expand Sun's platform geographically and be accretive to 2022 Core FFO per share.

Dublin-based PropTech BidX1 has raised strategic minority growth investments from doValue (15% for €10m) and Oliver Wyman (approximately 5%), with existing investor Pollen Street Capital and founder Stephen McCarthy retaining majority stakes. The deal includes Oliver Wyman transferring its proprietary NPL transaction platform to BidX1 and aims to accelerate BidX1's geographic expansion (notably into doValue's Southern European markets) and broaden its product offering for NPL and property transactions.

FirstPort, the Equistone-backed UK residential property services provider, has acquired Arcturus Corporation Limited (the parent of Blenheims and Campions) and Freemont. Freemont’s ~100 employees and its management of 5,400 homes will join the FirstPort group, while Blenheims and Campions will continue to operate under the FirstPort umbrella and benefit from FirstPort’s in-house teams and digital investment. These transactions are add-on acquisitions to FirstPort’s PE-backed platform.

An affiliate of Sun European Partners has agreed to acquire Bellrock Property & Facilities Management from Horizon Capital. Bellrock is a UK-based provider of specialist risk-focused workplace and property management solutions with a technology platform (Concerto) and a multi-site workforce; the deal positions the business for accelerated investment in sustainability, automation and continued buy-and-build growth.

SpareBox Storage acquired four stabilized self-storage properties from multiple sellers, adding approximately 700,000 net rentable square feet to its portfolio and establishing a new presence in Austin, Texas while expanding in Northwest Arkansas. SpareBox, a Denver-based national self-storage platform sponsored by Rizk Ventures, continues its strategy of consolidating stabilized assets in secondary and suburban markets.

Island Global Yachting (IGY Marinas) and Sardinian conglomerate Transport S.A.S. acquired long-term concession rights to Marina di Portisco in Sardinia and rebranded the facility IGY Portisco Marina. The marina offers 589 berths (including 41 superyacht berths, capacity to 90m) and the deal expands IGY's global superyacht network, enhancing its Mediterranean berthing and service capabilities.

DaGrosa Capital Partners LLC (DCP), a Miami-based investment firm, announced a strategic growth investment in ISG World, a fully integrated real estate sales and marketing firm specializing in pre-construction condominium projects. The investment will support ISG World’s infrastructure and systems expansion to scale condominium sales in South Florida and broaden its geographic reach across the U.S. and into Central America.

San Francisco-based real estate team The Level Up Group has merged with Napa Valley agent Dotty Hopkins & Associates, combining their agents and local expertise to expand coverage across the Bay Area from Napa Valley to Silicon Valley. The partnership increases the combined team's scale to about 20 agents and staff and broadens capabilities in single-family, luxury, vineyard, commercial, and probate sales.

BowX Acquisition Corp. and WeWork completed their business combination on October 20, 2021, taking WeWork public; the combined company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "WE" on October 21, 2021. The deal provided WeWork approximately $1.3 billion in gross cash proceeds (including trust-account cash, a fully committed PIPE and an equity backstop from Cushman & Wakefield) and left Marcelo Claure and Sandeep Mathrani in leadership roles as Executive Chairman and CEO, respectively.

StoicLane has closed on a majority stake in appraisal management company Lender's Valuation Services (LVS). The investment is the first for StoicLane's mortgage services platform and aims to help LVS scale its appraisal management and tech-enabled mortgage services nationwide.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (FBRT) completed its merger with Capstead Mortgage Corporation (CMO), with Capstead ceasing to be publicly traded after the close of trading on October 18, 2021. Under the merger each Capstead share converted into newly issued FBRT common stock and cash consideration (with an additional cash component paid by Benefit Street Partners), and the combined company will trade under the ticker FBRT on the NYSE.

Tokens.com closed the purchase of a 50% stake in Metaverse Group by issuing two million common shares at CAD$0.84 (valuation CAD$1.68M), receiving 25 million Metaverse Group shares for the ownership position. Metaverse Group owns an extensive portfolio of virtual NFT real estate across Decentraland, The Sandbox, Somnium Space, Cryptovoxels and Upland and provides virtual property development, property management and metaverse marketing/advertising services.

TA Associates will acquire a 25% stake in Foncia, a Paris-headquartered residential property management platform currently majority-owned by Partners Group. The transaction is a recapitalization that will expand Foncia's shareholder base while Partners Group retains majority ownership and continues to support the company’s digital transformation and European expansion.

CondoTek, a Philadelphia-based technology and information firm serving condominium and cooperative lenders, has acquired National Condo Advisors (NCA), a New York-based condominium project approval and consulting firm. The acquisition will combine CondoTek’s CondoPak product and technology capabilities with NCA’s regulatory and project-approval expertise to expand service offerings and grow the customer base; Orest Tomaselli will lead the Project Review Division under CondoTek’s leadership.

Cushman & Wakefield has acquired the South Carolina operations of long-time alliance member Morton G. Thalhimer, Inc., including three offices in Charleston, Greenville and Columbia. The move expands Cushman & Wakefield's presence across the Carolinas while allowing Thalhimer to focus on its Virginia operations and alliance relationship.

Zillow Group announced the acquisition of ShowingTime, an online home showing scheduling platform and Accel-KKR portfolio company, for $500 million. ShowingTime will continue to operate as an open platform under Zillow and Zillow plans to invest in and integrate ShowingTime's touring technology to improve scheduling and touring experiences for agents and consumers.

CoStar Group, Inc. has acquired COMREAL INFO, the owner and operator of BureauxLocaux.com, a leading French commercial property listings marketplace based in Paris. The purchase expands CoStar's European footprint and complements its existing marketplaces such as Realla and Belbex, giving CoStar a stronger presence in France's commercial property market.

Voxtur Analytics Corp. entered into an agreement to acquire all membership interests of RealWealth Technologies LLC and will rebrand the business as VoxturWealth. Consideration includes three million common shares issued at closing and two million additional shares held in escrow subject to EBITDA-based earnout targets; the deal is intended to expand Voxtur's real-estate technology platform and product capabilities.

Compass, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire CommonGround Abstract, LLC, a title and escrow services provider operating in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The acquisition expands Compass’ title and escrow portfolio and enhances its closing services footprint in the Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey markets; transaction terms were not disclosed.

Texas-based TopSide Marinas, backed by Miramar Equity Partners and TRT Holdings, acquired Beavers Bend Marina on Broken Bow Lake (Broken Bow, Oklahoma) and Galveston Yacht Basin (Galveston, Texas). The deals are part of TopSide’s platform build since its January 2020 founding and expand the company’s marina and hospitality footprint along key recreational waterways.

A joint venture between Sixth Street and Henley Investments has exchanged on the purchase of Martineau Place, a ~300,000 sq ft shopping centre in Birmingham city centre. The value-add acquisition gives the JV exposure to retail, food & beverage and healthcare tenancies adjacent to the Curzon Street HS2 terminal and near planned Martineau Galleries redevelopment.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust acquired the 369-room Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida for $270 million from an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners, LLC. The oceanfront lifestyle resort will continue to be managed by Davidson Hospitality Group and becomes part of Pebblebrook's Curator Hotel & Resort Collection as the REIT seeks to expand its footprint in South Florida.

Compass, the real estate technology company, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire First Alliance Title LLC, a leading title and escrow provider in the Denver metro area. The acquisition expands Compass' title and escrow portfolio and advances its goal of offering an end-to-end platform for residential real estate transactions; terms were not disclosed and the deal was expected to close by year-end.

Ventas, Inc. completed an all‑stock acquisition of New Senior Investment Group Inc. in a transaction valued at approximately $2.3 billion (including assumed/repurchased debt). The deal adds New Senior's 103 senior housing properties across 36 states to Ventas' portfolio, strengthening its independent-living exposure and positioning the REIT to capture senior housing upside.

Stellus Capital Management led a strategic growth capital investment in Elmdale Partners, with participation from LBC Small Cap SBIC and Jones Capital. The funding will support Elmdale’s geographic expansion, M&A activity, technology upgrades for its network of independent agents, and refinancing of existing debt.

ONE Sotheby's International Realty has acquired National Realty of Brevard and will onboard CEO Gale S. Bray and her 76 associates into the ONE SIR network. The acquisition expands ONE Sotheby's presence across Florida's East Coast and adds residential, commercial and property-management capabilities in Brevard County.

Compass, the New York-based real estate technology company, signed a definitive agreement to acquire LegacyTexas Title, a Dallas–Fort Worth title and escrow provider. The deal will strengthen Compass' title and escrow portfolio and enable tighter integration between its brokerage platform and adjacent services; terms were not disclosed and the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management completed a cash tender offer and merger to acquire The New Home Company. The transaction resulted in The New Home Company becoming a privately held, indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Apollo funds, with remaining shares converted to $9.00 per share in cash.

LRES Corporation, a California-based provider of property valuations and REO asset management, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Keystone Asset Management, Inc., a Lansdale, Pennsylvania-based REO and valuation services firm. The deal, announced Aug. 23, 2021, expands LRES’s servicing and valuation capabilities and adds an Eastern time zone team to its operations.

EasyKnock has acquired FarmlandFinder, the Des Moines–based online marketplace for U.S. farmland, to expand its sale-leaseback offering into agricultural land. The deal brings FarmlandFinder's platform and expertise into EasyKnock's product suite, enabling landowners to convert farmland equity to cash via sale-leaseback solutions.

Salt Lake City-based private investment firm Black Cliffs Partners has made a strategic investment in Orion Haus, a Nashville-based homesharing-friendly apartment brand. The capital will support Orion Haus’s expansion of its homesharing offering—leveraging its $200 million assets under management and a waitlist of over 30,000 apartments—to scale across the U.S. and internationally.

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Alliant Capital, Ltd. and its affiliates (Alliant Strategic Investments and ADC Communities), bringing approximately $14 billion of affordable housing assets under management to Walker & Dunlop's platform for a total enterprise value of $696 million. The deal (expected to close in Q4 2021) expands Walker & Dunlop's affordable housing capabilities by adding tax credit syndication, development and preservation expertise and is expected to be immediately accretive to revenue and adjusted EBITDA.

Small Business Development Group, Inc. (SBDG) signed a definitive agreement to acquire Appraisal 3000, Inc., a Southern California real estate appraisal firm. SBDG — a publicly traded holding company — intends to invest capital, technology, and human resources to expand Appraisal 3000’s operations nationally and build a real estate vertical within its portfolio.