Chicago, Georgia REITs to Merge in $2.2-Billion Deal

Equity Residential Properties Trust of Chicago on Wednesday agreed to buy Georgia-based apartment developer Merry Land & Investment Co. in a $2.2-billion deal, one of the largest mergers of real estate investment trusts.

“This is part of a trend toward a lot of mergers, acquisitions and other corporate activity,” said Craig Silvers, a real estate industry analyst in the Los Angeles office of Sutro & Co., a securities firm. “It gets hard for them to grow by buying small portfolios. They have to grow by buying other REITs.”