Greystar CEO Bob Faith On EdR’s $4.6B Buyout

Bob Faith

NEW YORK CITY–Yesterday Greystar announced it was acquiring Education Realty Trust for $4.6 billion. Greystar is making the purchase through a newly-formed perpetual-life fund called Greystar Student Housing Growth and Income Fund. As part of the deal, it is partnering with Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust to acquire 20 of EdR’s assets — namely, properties located close to several universities — for $1.2 billion. After the deal was announced GlobeSt.com caught up with Greystar CEO Bob Faith to learn more about the transaction and how it plays into Greystar’s plans to expand into student housing.

Like most mega deals lately, Greystar’s decision to take EdR private was fueled by current dynamics in the market — the gap between valuations in the public and private markets and private equity’s massive supply of dry capital, among others. “The acquisition does highlight the fact that sometimes you acquire assets on Wall Street more efficiently than on Main Street,” Faith says.