ATLANTA, GA - Preferred Apartment Communities announced that it has entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement to sell its student housing portfolio to TPG Real Estate Partners for $478.7 million. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020 and is subject to customary closing conditions. The Portfolio was marketed for sale by CBRE.
The Portfolio includes eight, high-quality student housing communities located in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas. The communities include more than 6,000 beds with a wide range of indoor and outdoor amenities. The communities to be sold include: NxNW, a 679-bed student housing community located in Tallahassee, Florida; Knightshade, an 894-bed student housing community located in Orlando, Florida; The Tradition, an 808-bed student housing community located in College Station, Texas; The Bloc, a 556-bed student housing community located in Lubbock, Texas; Ursa, an 840-bed student housing community located in Waco, Texas; SoL, a 639-bed student housing community located in Tempe, Arizona; Stadium Village, a 792-bed student housing community located in Kennesaw, Georgia near Atlanta, Georgia; and Rush, an 887-bed student housing community located in Charlotte, North Carolina
"We look forward to closing the sale of our student housing portfolio to TPG Real Estate in the coming months," said Joel Murphy, Preferred Apartment Communities' President and Chief Executive Officer. "This is consistent with our previously stated objectives to exit the student housing space, simplify our focus to our core Sunbelt multifamily business, and improve our balance sheet. TPG Real Estate has demonstrated their commitment to the transaction and their sector experience throughout the process, and both groups worked well together during the due diligence phase."
"This transaction represents a scaled entry for TPG Real Estate into the U.S. student housing sector and an extension of our student housing initiatives in Europe. We believe the assets in this portfolio will benefit from their adjacency to high-quality academic institutions that are well positioned to weather the challenges resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic," said Ty Newell, Principal at TREP. "In spite of these near-term challenges, these student housing communities are poised to experience a combination of strong regional demographic fundamentals and favorable supply dynamics that should continue to support performance. Preferred Apartment Communities has continued to operate and lease the Portfolio in a first-rate manner following the signing of the purchase agreement. We look forward to leveraging TREP's expertise in building and scaling high-quality real estate platforms, as well as the operating capabilities of our partners at Cardinal Group, to generate additional growth and value across the portfolio."