On December 18, 2024, Forum Real Estate Income and Impact Fund (“REIIF”), a private real estate investment trust affiliated with Forum Asset Management (“Forum”), completed its C$1.7 billion combination with Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust’s portfolio (“Alignvest”).
The combination makes REIIF the leading owner of purpose-built student accommodations (PBSA) in Canada, and has been listed in the Top 20 RENX commercial real estate stories of 2024.
With the inclusion of the Alignvest portfolio, REIIF will own and manage nearly 10,500 beds, enhancing its commitment to delivering institutional-quality properties in top university markets across the country. This increased scale will allow Forum to expand its PBSA development program, addressing the growing need for high-quality student housing in supply-constrained markets across Canada.
Fasken advised Forum and its affiliated entities on the real estate, financing, corporate, and tax structuring matters related to this complex acquisition with a team comprised of Gesta Abols, Grant McGlaughlin, Claire Gowdy, Alexis Shamess, Taylor West, Arjun Sodhi, Cole Halbert (Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions); Andrea Centa, Allyson Roy, Iris Tam, Ruby Cammarano, Giovanna Campagna (Real Estate (Ontario)); Nicolas Leblanc, Catherine-Anne Goldrick (Real Estate (Quebec)); Paul Logan (Real Estate (Alberta)); Lu Chen, Nicholas McFarlane (Banking and Finance); Chris Margison (Competition, Marketing & Foreign Investment); Mitchell Thaw, Katerina Ignatova (Tax Law); Christian Paquette, Camille Sigouin (Labour, Employment & Human Rights); Jamie Marcello, Karan Bateriwala and Peter Garrett (Articling Students).
Jurisdiction
- Canada