Major single-family home operators Starwood Waypoint Homes and Blackstone Group's Invitation Homes plan to merge in a deal that would create the largest rental-home landlord in the U.S.
The merged REITs would have a combined market cap of $10.7B, the Wall Street Journal reports. Invitation Homes shareholders would own 59% of the combined company's stock, while Starwood investors would hold the remaining 41%.
The new company would own 82,000 homes in 17 metro areas, and would keep the name Invitation Homes while being led by Starwood Waypoint Homes' CEO Fred Tuomi.
This bid marks the biggest deal yet in the rental-home business, which has experienced a lot of consolidation activity as of late. The industry has been booming since the financial crisis, when large landlords were purchasing foreclosed properties cheaply.
“This turned out to be a business,” Starwood Chairman Barry Sternlicht told the Journal. “When we started out I think there were a lot of people who didn’t think it was a business. They thought it was a trade.”
CORRECTION, AUG. 10, 3:38 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Barry Sternlicht is the chairman of Blackstone. He is the chairman of Starwood. The story has been updated.
