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Canada  + Ontario  + Student Housing  | 
Photo of students playing table tennis and watching television in a dormitory.

Forum REIIF to Acquire ASH REIT for $1.69B

Alignvest Student Housing REIT will be sold to Forum Real Estate Income and Impact Fund for $1.69 billion in cash and stock, their parent companies announced Wednesday.

Alignvest Student Housing and Forum Asset Management said they have entered into definitive agreements whereby Forum REIIF will acquire ASH REIT’s entire portfolio. Forum will own suites containing about 10,500 beds altogether, pending regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

“This combination marks a pivotal step in Forum’s journey and is a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication in building a leading alternative asset manager,” said Richard Abboud, founder and CEO of Forum Asset Management.

ASH REIT was formed in 2018 to consolidate the fragmented student accommodation sector across Canada. The REIT has built a portfolio of 17 properties with 7,159 beds across key university markets.

“We are delighted to partner with Forum on this transaction, which provides a compelling return on investment for ASH REIT’s unitholders,” said Sanjil Shah, managing partner of Alignvest Student Housing and trustee of ASH REIT.

“Importantly, we’ve structured the deal to allow unitholders to roll their units into Forum on a tax-deferred basis for Canadian income-tax purposes. This ensures continued participation in the robust Canadian student housing sector, which has consistently demonstrated strong demand and attractive returns.”

Reza Satchu, managing partner of Alignvest Management Corporation and trustee of ASH REIT, said management is fully committed to the deal. The management group will roll $50 million of its units into Forum REIIF and, together with the parent company’s shareholders, contribute nearly $100 million into Forum units.

“This is an outstanding outcome for our unitholders, and the board of trustees is pleased to unanimously recommend approval of the transaction,” said Nancy Lockhart, who chairs the REIT’s board.

Forum invests in multi-family rental apartments, purpose-built student housing, and furnished rentals in supply-constrained Canadian markets. The fund emphasizes ESG-driven investments to enhance yields and total returns while striving to foster a resilient and diverse portfolio.

The transaction is expected to close by year-end 2024. Both Alignvest and Forum are based in Toronto.

Rendering: Courtesy of Forum Asset Management

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Inside The Story

Sanjil ShahRichard Abboud

About Monte Stewart

Monte Stewart serves as Content Director - Canada for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monte provides daily news coverage of major Canadian commercial real estate markets, including Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. He has written about the real estate sector for various media outlets and Avison Young since the early 2000s. In addition, he has covered sports, general news and business for several leading wire services and publications, including The Canadian Press, The Associated Press, The Calgary Herald, The Globe and Mail, Research Money, The Daily Oil Bulletin, Natural Gas World and The Toronto Star. Monte is active in his community as a youth basketball coach and raises funds for such charitable causes as Movember.

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