Milestone Apartments Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: MST.UN) (“Milestone” or “the REIT”) completed its going private transaction whereby an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group (“Starwood”) acquired all of Milestone’s subsidiaries and assets for approximately US$2.9 billion. All outstanding trust units of the REIT were redeemed in accordance with certain amendments to Milestone’s Declaration of Trust, and the REIT was wound up and terminated. In connection with the closing of the transaction, Milestone unitholders received a final liquidating distribution of US$16.30041 per Unit, which includes an amount that would otherwise have been paid as the REIT’s April distribution.
Prior to the closing of the transaction, the REIT owned a portfolio of 78 multifamily garden-style residential properties, comprising over 24,000 apartment units in over 15 major metropolitan markets throughout the Southeast and Southwest United States.
Starwood is a private alternative investment firm with a core focus on global real estate, energy infrastructure and oil & gas. Starwood has raised over $37 billion of equity capital since its inception in 1991, and currently manages approximately $52 billion in assets.
Milestone was represented in-house by John Ascenzo, Corporate Counsel, and externally in Canada by Goodmans LLP with a team led by Stephen Pincus that included Brad Ross, Emily Weizel and Sarah Macchione (corporate/M&A), Jon Northup and Michael Royal (tax), Francy Kussner (D&O insurance) and Michael Koch (Competition and Investment Canada); and in the United States by Vinson & Elkins LLP with a team led by Mark Early that included Alex Rose, Alex Robertson, KJ Pedersen, Desiree Baca, Aaron Walker and Michael Andrews (corporate/M&A), Michael Boulden and Courtney Hammond (real estate), Jim Meyer, Chris Mangin, Wendy Salinas, Christen Romero and Lauren Meyers (tax), Shane Tucker and Steven Oyler (executive compensation & benefits), Vanessa Griffith (labour & employment), Neil Imus (antitrust), Devika Kornbacher (IP), Noelle Alix (finance), and Sue Snyder and Casey Hopkins (environmental).
Starwood was represented in Canada by Stikeman Elliott LLP with a team that included Warren Katz, Simon Romano, Maxime Charbonneau and Helia Taheri (corporate/M&A), and Frank Mathieu and Eric Levesque (tax); and in the United States by Kirkland & Ellis LLP with a team that included Edward Schneidman, Eric Sievertsen, Jocelyn Wirshba and Jaye Kasper (corporate/M&A), Michael Beinus, John Crisp and Max Gektin (tax), and Jonathan Schechter, Scott Berger, Travis Fleming, Nolan Stanton and Jacob Clark (real estate).