Artis REIT has passed some key milestones on the path toward completing its merger with RFA Capital, the REIT reported.

Winnipeg-based Artis said its board has unanimously approved the planned all-stock transaction. The proposed deal has also received federal approval in accordance with the Competition Act

The REIT said it has received strong unitholder support thus with 39.7% voting in favour of would-be deal thus far. Sandpiper Group, Halcyon International Limited, and all Artis trustees and officers, have also agreed to vote in favour of the transactions. entered into voting support agreements to vote in favour of the transaction.

A unitholder vote will be held December 11. In addition to unitholder endorsement, the deal will require final court approval, along with customary regulatory approvals and a waiver of customary closing conditions.

If all goes according to plan, Artis will be delisted from the TSX and become a subsidiary of RFA Financial. But current Artis unitholders will own most of the stock in the new firm.

Under the proposed deal, Artis unitholders will receive one common share of RFA Financial for each unit that they hold, representing 68% of the combined company.

The combined entity is slated to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and feature a Schedule I bank, RFA Bank of Canada, alongside RFA’s mortgage-origination platform. Artis’ commercial real estate portfolio will become part of the new platform, with proceeds from future asset sales expected to be redeployed into RFA’s higher-growth financial services businesses.

Leadership of the new company will include Ben Rodney as president and CEO, Samir Manji as executive chair, Jaclyn Koenig as CFO and Melody Lo as COO. Rodney currently chairs Artis and serves as president of Toronto-based RFA. Manji is currently the Winnipeg-based REIT’s president and CEO, while Koenig is its CFO.

The proposed merger comes after Artis concluded a strategic review process that lasted more than a year and resulted in $1.1 billion in divestments for debt-reduction purposes. Artis and RFA plan to continue selling the REIT’s assets as part of a rationalization process and use the “substantial net proceeds” to support growth opportunities in RFA’s financial-services platform.

The organizations have said the planned capital investments would generate material higher returns at a faster rate than a standalone REIT could produce.

The proposed merger is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

Pictured: Calgary office building.

Photo: Artis REIT