Education Realty Trust, a developer of student housing, said on Monday it would be acquired by an affiliate of Greystar Real Estate Partners for about $4.6 billion, including debt.
Education Realty shareholders will receive $41.50 per share in cash from Greystar Student Housing Growth and Income Fund, a 1.6 percent premium to the company's closing price on Friday.
Education Realty shares, which were trading at $41.37 before the bell, have gained about 12 percent since June 1 after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company was exploring a sale.
The deal, which is expected to close in the second-half of 2018, has an equity value of $3.15 billion, based on Education Realty's outstanding shares as on May 1.
Additionally, Greystar will buy a portfolio of off-campus student housing assets from Education Realty for $1.2 billion in a joint venture with real-estate unit of Blackstone.
The newly combined Greystar and Education Realty team will own about $10 billion in portfolio of income-generating real estate concentrated in U.S. markets, the companies said.
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch advised Education Realty, while Morrison & Foerster and Venable provided legal advise. J.P. Morgan was financial adviser to Greystar, while Hogan Lovells and King & Spalding were its legal advisers.