Apartment REIT Equity Residential has sold its Lexford Housing Division to an affiliate of Empire Group Holdings for roughly $1.09 billion, reports SNL Financial. The Lexford Housing Division, which Equity Residential bought in 1999 for $738 million, consists of 289 properties with a total of 27,115 apartment units.
The division also includes a Columbus, Ohio-based property management business with 800 employees. The Lexford properties are scattered across 10 states.
According to SNL Financial, a Charlottesville-based financial data firm, Equity Residential expects to book a total gain of $430 million on the sale. It will also receive roughly $850 million in net sale proceeds after closing expenses and repayment of approximately $210 million of secured debt.