Blackstone Group and Starwood Capital Group have joined forces to create the country’s largest single family rental business. The new firm will retain the name of Blackstone’s publicly-traded single family division, Invitation Homes. The company’s portfolio will consists of 82,000 rental homes across 17 metro areas. Holdings in the South Florida and Los Angeles areas account for a large proportion of the portfolio, with more than 9,000 homes in the greater Miami metro area and 8,000 in the suburbs of Southern California. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal marks the largest transaction in the single family industry since the foreclosure crisis approximately 10 years ago.
The deal announced Thursday is a 100 percent stock swap between Invitation Homes and Starwood Waypoint. After closing, expected by the end of the year, Invitation Homes shareholders will own 59 percent of the firm, with Starwood Waypoint shareholders controlling the remainder.
“This merger creates a leading single-family rental company in the United States, which will be uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional service to residents, while also improving operating efficiency,” said Fred Tuomi, chief executive of Starwood Waypoint, who will lead the new firm under the Invitation Homes name.
