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2026 Canadian Transactions of the Year
Eastern Canada
- EBlock’s Scott, Chatfield Honoured for Launching Physical, Online Vehicle Auction Centre in Halifax
- Both Forum REIIF, Alignvest Gain From ASH REIT Deal
- Colliers Teams Collaborate with Nokia and Governments on Mixed-Use, 11-Acre Campus
- KingSett Capitalizes on RTO Movement Early with Downtown Montreal Office Acquistion
- Mei Leads Hub City Team to Lease Up Chronically Vacant Duplex
- Boardwalk Excels Beyond its Comfort Zone with Three-Tower Apartment Complex Acquisition in Laval
- Teachers’ Seniors Home Portfolio Investment Pays Off with Sale to Welltower
- Colliers’ Amero and Roquet Large Laval New-Build Industrial Lease Stands Out
- Urbacon Achieves a Series of Firsts with $320M Data Centre ABS Refinancing Deal
- Primaris Uses Creativity to Complete $565M Acquisition of Promenades St-Bruno Mall
- Avison Young’s Clancy Closes Sale of Mississauga Industrial Asset in Under 100 Days
- Alta Canada’s Geller Steps Up to Buy Former Miséricorde Hospital in Downtown Montreal
Both Forum REIIF, Alignvest Gain From ASH REIT Deal
In early 2025, Forum Real Estate Income and Impact Fund completed its $1.69-billion acquisition of Alignvest Student Housing (ASH) REIT.
ASH REIT’s purchase price represented a 31% premium on the fair market value of the REIT’s class F units since the agreement was announced in November. The deal fulfilled ASH REIT controlling unitholder Alignvest Student Housing’s goal of generating ongoing yield through consistent cash distribution, as well as meaningful upside via equity appreciation, from the day that ASH REIT went public.
The REIT’s large sale came only seven years after the entity was founded in 2018. Forum regarded the deal as a « defining moment » in its history. The REIIF financed a portion of the acquisition through a consortium of Canadian lending partners that included BMO, KingSett Capital, and TD Asset Management.
These are some of the reasons why Forum Real Estate Income and Impact Fund and Alignvest were honoured with Connect Canada’s Canadian Transactions of the Year Awards for completing the REIT’s sale. Forum’s recipients are Richard Abboud, founder and CEO of majority owner Forum Asset Management, and Aly Damji, a Forum managing partner and the REIIF’s head. Sanjil Shah, Alignvest’s founder and managing partner has also been honoured. The awards highlight deals and closings impacting Canada’s commercial real estate sector.