NORTHBROOK, IL—Locally based Atlas Apartment Holdings has acquired a 20-asset multifamily portfolio spanning 5,059 units and five Sunbelt states. The total purchase price was approximately $490 million; GlobeSt.com previously reported on the first phase of the sale, a $150-million portfolio buy that represented the largest multifamily sale to date in Orlando.

Cushman & Wakefield served as exclusive advisor to Atlas on the transaction, with an equity, debt & structured finance team of John Alascio, Sridhar Vankayala and Alex Lapidus speaking for the buyer. The sellers could not be determined at press time, although industry data have cited Equity Residential as the seller of the Orlando properties. However, EQR does not have holdings in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina or South Carolina, the four other states in which C&W represented Atlas.

Atlas spent a total of $150 million on the Orlando properties, with the $340-million interest in the remaining 18 properties assigned to a large private opportunity fund, the identity of which was not disclosed. The portfolio, comprised primarily of 1970s and 1980s vintage properties, is currently 96% occupied and is said to offer strong in-place cash flow.

Each of the assets is strategically located in geographically-diverse markets with demonstrated market rent growth. The portfolio also offers upside potential via a value-add renovation program.

“This portfolio gave institutional equity the ability to deploy a large amount of capital into strong, economically-diverse markets across the Southeast and Southwest United States,” says Alascio, managing director with C&W equity, debt & structured finance group. “Continued liquidity in the multifamily sector coupled with strong fundamentals fueled investor interest.”