Plymouth Industrial REIT has agreed to be taken private in a $2.1 billion all-cash transaction led by Makarora Management and Ares Management’s alternative credit funds, marking one of the largest recent privatizations in the industrial real estate sector.
Under the terms of the agreement, Plymouth shareholders will receive $22 per share, a roughly 50% premium to the company’s closing price on August 18, 2025, the day before a competing nonbinding offer from Sixth Street Partners. The transaction includes the assumption of existing debt and values the company at nearly double Sixth Street’s earlier unsolicited bid in August.
The Boston-based REIT, which controls a portfolio of 226 industrial assets totaling more than 32 million square feet across ten U.S. markets, said the deal was unanimously approved by its board of directors. Plymouth also holds a joint venture interest in about five million square feet of Chicago-area properties.
Following completion of the merger, expected in early 2026 pending shareholder and regulatory approval, Plymouth’s common shares will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and deregistered under the Securities Exchange Act. The company intends to pay its previously announced third-quarter dividend on October 31, but does not plan to release third-quarter earnings or hold its regular investor call.
The agreement includes a 30-day “go-shop” period expiring November 23 that allows Plymouth and its advisors to solicit alternative proposals. If a superior offer emerges, the company can terminate the transaction. According to terms disclosed in the merger documents, Plymouth would owe a $40.1 million termination fee if the deal falls through or receive $70.2 million if terminated under certain conditions.
Jeff Witherell, Plymouth’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement that the all-cash offer provides “significant, immediate and certain value” to shareholders. Chad Pike, Makarora’s founder and chief investment officer and a former Blackstone executive, described the acquisition as an opportunity to expand exposure to strategically located industrial properties in the Midwest and East Coast—regions, within a day’s drive of 70% of the U.S. population.
Makarora Management, founded in 2024, has focused on deploying flexible capital into real estate and credit markets during what it describes as a valuation reset across U.S. property types. KeyBanc Capital Markets and J.P. Morgan Securities are serving as financial advisors to Plymouth, while Morrison & Foerster and Alston & Bird are providing legal counsel.
Shares of Plymouth Industrial fell more than 2% in after-hours trading following the company’s announcement late Friday.
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