IRT, Centerspace to Merge in $8B Deal
This is the second merger for Independence Realty Trust in five years.
Independence Realty Trust and Centerspace have entered into a merger agreement in an all-stock transaction to create a middle-market multifamily REIT. The deal has an enterprise value of about $8.1 billion.
The company will focus on non-gateway markets with high growth. The new REIT will operate 163 communities with 44,354 units across 17 states, with an equity market capitalization of $5 billion. Specifically, the merger is expected to strengthen IRT’s presence across Sunbelt, Midwest and Mountain West markets.
Upon closing, IRT stockholders will own about 78 percent of company shares, and Centerspace stockholders will own about 22 percent of the new REIT. The deal is expected to close as early as the end of the fourth quarter of this year, subject to shareholder approval. Following the merger, the company will continue to operate under the Independence Realty Trust name and trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
The combined company is also expected to expand its pipeline of units available for redevelopment through IRT’s value-add program.
This is the second merger agreement for IRT in the last five years. In July 2021, Multi-Housing News reported that the company entered an agreement to merge with Steadfast Apartment REIT Inc., creating a company with an enterprise value of $7 billion. The combined portfolio was mainly located in Sun Belt markets.
Centerspace has expanded its Mountain West holdings in recent years. In June 2025, the company acquired the 341-unit Sugarmont Apartments in Salt Lake City for $149 million, marking its first acquisition in Utah and the state’s largest multifamily transaction in nearly five years.
Scott Schaeffer will act as chairman & CEO, while James Sebra will be president & CFO. The board of directors will expand to 11 members, nine from IRT and two from Centerspace.
For this deal, RBC Capital Markets and Rothschild & Co. advised IRT, along with legal advisor Troutman Pepper Locke LLP. BMO Capital Markets Corp. and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as Centerspace’s financial and legal advisors, respectively.
