Archstone was a

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping ce ...

that invested in

apartments An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

. In 2007, the company was acquired by

Tishman Speyer Tishman Speyer Properties is an American company that invests in real estate. History The firm was founded in 1978 by Robert Tishman and Jerry Speyer. In March 1988, the company announced its first project in Europe, the construction of a 70 ...

and

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, a ...

and, in 2013, the company's assets were acquired by Equity Residential and

AvalonBay Communities AvalonBay Communities, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in apartments. As of January 31, 2021, the company owned 79,856 apartment units in New England, the New York City metropolitan area, the Washington, D. ...

. At the time of the liquidation of the company in 2013, it owned over 40,000 apartment units.

History

In 1998, Security Capital Pacific Trust and Security Capital Atlantic Inc. merged to form Archstone Communities. The merged company owned 304 properties and 90,166 apartments. Security Capital had been founded by William D. Sanders in 1990. In 2001, the company acquired Charles E. Smith Residential Realty, the apartment company founded by Charles E. Smith and the largest real estate owner in the

Washington, D.C. metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

, in a $2.2 billion transaction. In 2007, the company was acquired by

and

in a $22.2 billion transaction. At that time, the company owned interests in 359 apartment communities including 87,667 apartment units. On February 27, 2013, Equity Residential and

closed a $9 billion deal to acquire the company from Lehman Brothers.

References

{{Reflist, 1 2012 mergers and acquisitions 2007 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1946 Defunct real estate companies of the United States Real estate companies established in 1946 American companies disestablished in 2013 Smith family (real estate)