Archstone was a

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT, pronounced "reet") is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of real estate, including office and apartment buildings, studios, warehouses, hos ...

that invested in

apartments An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

. In 2007, the company was acquired by

Tishman Speyer Tishman Speyer is an American multinational corporation based at 45 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan. The conglomerate invests in high-profile real estate properties, has developed multiple buildings around the world, and has owned famou ...

and

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1850. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril ...

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

Equity Residential Equity Residential is a United States–based publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in apartments. As of December 31, 2024, the company owned or had investments in 311 properties consisting of 84,249 apartment units in Southe ...

and AvalonBay Communities. 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, 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,

and AvalonBay Communities 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)