Forum Real Estate Income and Impact Fund has completed its $1.7-billion acquisition of Alignvest Student Housing (ASH) REIT.

The REIIF and REIT’s respective parents, Forum Asset Management and Alignvest Student Housing, announced the deal’s completion Monday in separate news releases. Forum Asset Management said it has also acquired student housing developer Campus Assets from Alignvest for an undisclosed amount.

ASH REIT’s purchase price represented a 31% premium on the fair market value of its class F units since the agreement was announced in November, said Alignvest.

The REIT ranks as Canada’s largest owner of purpose-built student accommodations with a 7,159-bed portfolio across 17 properties in key university markets across the country, said Alignvest. The markets include Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Oshawa, Hamilton, Waterloo, Ont.; and Edmonton.

“When we launched ASH REIT in 2018, we set out to build an institutional-quality student housing platform by acquiring high-quality assets in tier-one university markets across Canada at attractive valuations and optimizing operations with professional management to maximize long-term returns to investors,” said Sanji Shah, managing partner for both Alignvest and ASH REIT.

“We sought to provide investors ongoing yield through consistent cash distribution as well as meaningful upside via equity appreciation. Our platform would be poised to capitalize on Canada’s growing demand for high-quality student housing while delivering highly compelling returns to investors.

“Less than seven years later, we are extremely proud of our team that has flawlessly executed this vision. We became the leading provider of student housing in Canada and provided a consistent yield and steady capital appreciation to investors, returning an approximate [three times] multiple on initial capital invested. We are pleased to have successfully completed this sale which represents the closing step in realizing our strategy.”

The completion came after the ASH REIT unitholders overwhelmingly (99.03%) approved the proposed transaction, the Competition Bureau of Canada endorsed it and the parties satisfied customary closing conditions.

Forum said a portion of the purchase price was funded through a consortium of strategic lending partners that included BMO, KingSett Capital, and TD Asset Management.

Richard Abboud, founder and CEO of Forum Asset Management called the acquisition a “defining moment” for the company and REIFF.

“It reflects our commitment to building a platform that delivers long-term value for our unitholders and supports the essential housing needs of students across Canada,” he said. “This investment not only strengthens our leadership position but also aligns with our mission to develop resilient, diversified assets that drive sustainable growth.”

Fasken, BLG, CBRE, KPMG, PwC, Grant Thornton, and Bonard advised Forum on the transaction.

Both Forum and Alignvest are based in Toronto.

Rendering: Courtesy of Forum Asset Management