The estate of the bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has announced the sale of apartment-building owner Archstone Enterprise LP to Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities Inc. in a $6.5 billion cash and stock deal.
Bloomberg News reports that Chicago-based Equity Residential will acquire approximately 60% of Archstone's assets and liabilities, while Arlington, Va.-based AvalonBay will acquire approximately 40%. The transaction includes $9.5 billion in Archstone's debt.
Lehman was part of an investment alliance that purchased Archstone in 2007 for about $15.5 billion, and initially owned half of the Englewood, Colo.-based company. Earlier this year, Lehman paid $1.58 billion to acquire total ownership of Archstone from its former business partners, Bank of America Corp. and Barclays Bank PLC.
‘The sale of Archstone to Equity Residential and AvalonBay is a very positive outcome for our creditors,’ says Lehman's Chairman Owen Thomas.
