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Report: Education Realty Trust explores potential private takeover

Education Realty Trust Inc. is in discussions with private equity firms for a possible going-private deal, as the student housing real estate investment trust weighs a potential sale, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.

Sources told the publication that the negotiations are not guaranteed to result in a company sale.

The possible deal comes at a time when student housing properties are sparking investor interest, including the recent US$1 billion purchase of a 22-property student housing portfolio by a joint venture between Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC and Chicago-based student housing owner Scion Group LLC, and Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd.'s US$197.5 million acquisition of the 850-bed Cira Centre South high-rise facility in Philadelphia, in which Brandywine Realty Trust owned a 50% stake.

Education Realty Trust, which is one of the largest U.S. developers, owners and managers of collegiate housing, had a US$2.87 billion market cap as of May 1, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

The Journal also noted, citing Dealogic, that the real estate market is the fifth-busiest sector for M&A deals in 2018, with US$159 billion worth of transactions so far.