Essex, BRE Will Combine in $15.4B Merger

PALO ALTO, CA-The merger of Essex Property Trust Inc. and BRE Properties—first the basis of rumors, then increasingly a certainty as the REITs entered negotiations—is coming to pass, with the two companies announcing jointly on Thursday morning that they would combine to create the only publicly traded pure play multifamily REIT on the West Coast. The combined company is expected to have a total market capitalization of approximately $15.4 billion. 

Under the terms of the agreement, each BRE common share will be converted into 0.2971 newly issued shares of Essex common stock plus $12.33 in cash. Based on Essex’s closing stock price Wednesday afternoon, the transaction is valued at $56.21 per share.