American Homes Grows by Acquisition

Agoura Hills-based American Homes 4 Rent, the country’s largest publicly traded single-family home landlord, announced Thursday that it will acquire American Residential Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Scottsdale, in a transaction valued at $1.5 billion. The deal is one of the biggest yet in a year that has seen significant consolidation in the corporate landlord market. The combined company is expected to own more than 47,000 homes in 22 states and to have an equity market capitalization of $5.5 billion. As part of the acquisition, American Homes 4 Rent will assume about $800 million of American Residential’s debt, the company said in a statement. Under the merger agreement, each share of American Residential Properties common stock will be exchanged for 1.135 common shares of American Homes 4 Rent. The deal represents a current value per share of American Residential Properties of $19.01, a 19.8 percent premium over its most recent average closing price. The two companies have significant geographic overlap in their property portfolios and expect to achieve operational synergies by reducing duplicate expenses for property management personnel, management information systems and other back-office functions. “Moving ahead, we look forward to creating additional value for the shareholders of the combined company,” said David Singelyn, chief executive of American Homes 4 Rent, in a prepared statement. The company was co-founded in 2011 by 81-year-old self-storage billionaire B. Wayne Hughes, who built his wealth with Public Storage Inc., the Glendale company he started in 1972 and turned into the largest self-storage chain in the world. In 1983, it spun off PS Business Parks Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust also headquartered in Glendale. American Homes 4 Rent will retain its Agoura Hills corporate headquarters and maintain a presence in the Phoenix market. American Residential Properties’ executive team will remain with that company until the acquisition, which is subject to majority approval of its stockholders, closes sometime next year. American Homes 4 Rent’s shares closed down 77 cents, or 4.6 percent to $15.98 on the New York Stock Exchange.