BGO Merges With Bell Partners
The deal is set to close in the second half.
BGO has entered into a definitive agreement to combine its business with Bell Partners. The partnership comes after Sun Life Financial Inc., BGO’s parent company, announced the acquisition of Bell Partners for $350 million.
The deal, subject to receipt of regulatory and Toronto Stock Exchange approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions, is set to close in the second half of this year. Combined, BGO and Bell Partners will have more than $100 billion of assets under management globally.
PJT Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to Sun Life and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP acted as legal counsel. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor and Hogan Lovells acted as legal counsel for Bell Partners.
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Besides the acquisition of Bell Partners, Sun Life Financial has also recently completed the purchase of the remaining equity interests in BGO and Crescent Capital Group. As part of the deal, the firm paid $1.2 billion for the remaining 44 percent interest stake in BGO and $608 million for the remaining 49 percent stake in Crescent.
Bell Partners remains a standalone platform
Bell Partners will operate as a standalone, vertically integrated platform within BGO and will oversee the broader company’s U.S. multifamily portfolio. The business will remain under its current leadership team, which will retain responsibility for investment strategy, execution and performance, while continuing to run its integrated investment and property management model.
Founded in 1976, Bell Partners manages about 70,000 communities across 12 U.S. regions. The company has assets in Dallas, San Francisco, Denver and Atlanta, among other metros. And just before the end of last year, the firm expanded its Seattle presence with the $142 million acquisition of Alexan Access, a 383-unit luxury community.
The transaction combines two complementary platforms as investor interest in institutional multifamily remains strong in the U.S., supported by solid housing fundamentals and limited new supply. It also comes amid a recent wave of mergers and acquisitions across real estate investment and operations, as firms look to add scale, broaden capabilities and position portfolios for a higher-cost capital environment.
Earlier this month, Domain Capital Group closed on the acquisition of Simpson Property Group. The State of Michigan Retirement Systems sold the Denver-based firm, which has a residential arm holding more than 23,000 units.
