Forum Asset Management agrees to buy Alignvest Student Housing REIT

• ASH REIT was established in 2018 to consolidate the student accommodation real estate sector across Canada
• The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of 2024
• Forum Asset Management is an alternative asset manager, investor and developer

An affiliate of Forum Asset Management has agreed to acquire all of the assets and liabilities of Alignvest Student Housing’s Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust (ASH REIT).

The purchase price is C$1.7 billion and is payable in cash and shares of Forum’s affiliate, Forum Real Estate Income and Impact Fund (Forum REIIF).

ASH REIT was established in 2018 to consolidate the student accommodation real estate sector across Canada. Over the past seven years, the platform has built a portfolio of 17 properties with 7,159 beds in seven university markets.

“This nearly 10,000-bed transaction will result in the largest student housing platform in Canada and will deliver the benefits of expected efficiencies of scale,” Reza Satchu, managing partner of Alignvest Management, said in a statement. “Our unitholders will have access to the Forum’s significant development base, which should facilitate further development. AMC is pleased to support this transaction by committing to convert 100 percent of our units in ASH REIT, representing over C$50 million, and together with ASH shareholders, almost C$100 million, into units of Forum REIIF.”

The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

ASH REIT’s manager, Alignvest Student Housing, is an affiliate of Alignvest Management, a Toronto-based alternative asset firm.

Toronto-based Forum Asset Management is an alternative asset manager, investor and developer specializing in real estate, private equity and infrastructure.