NEW YORK CITY and LOS ANGELES—The merger of equals among the three companies occurs just weeks after they confirmed tri-party discussions about a deal for Colony Capital to acquire NorthStar Asset Management, which manages NorthStar Realty Finance through an affiliate.

CHICAGO, RENO, NV—The Chicago group has investments in 22 states, and just made its first buy in Reno, a town that is attracting young people and innovative industries.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Greystone has just provided a $25M loan to a multifamily operator here, and says the market has been getting stronger for several years.

NEW YORK CITY--“There are significantly greater peak-to-trough changes over the course of the business cycle in certain sectors than others,” says Fitch Ratings' Steven Marks. The ratings agency has analyzed the link between GDP, unemployment and NOI for each property type.