AvalonBay and Equity Residential merge to form Vivmark Residential

AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential have finalized a merger of equals to form Vivmark Residential, a major rental housing entity with an enterprise value of approximately $70 billion and an equity market capitalization of $51 billion.

The combined company will own more than 184,000 rental apartments, with an additional 11,100 units currently under construction. Vivmark is scheduled to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol VMRK on August 18.

Under the terms of the merger, former AvalonBay shareholders will hold approximately 51% of the new company, while former Equity Residential shareholders will hold approximately 49%. The company expects to generate more than $2 billion in annual cash flow and plans an initial annualized dividend of $2.81 per share, with common dividends expected to exceed $2 billion in 2026.