Blackstone Group [1]’s single-family rental platform Invitation Homes [2] has announced its plans for an initial public offering, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Forbes.
Invitation Homes could receive more than $5 billion from the IPO, according to Forbes [3]. Citing a filing by Invitation Homes, the Wall Street Journal [4] reported that among other purposes, the proceeds from the IPO to repay Invitation Homes’ debts.
Noting that ongoing home price appreciation continues to put upward pressure on rents, Antoine Gara of Forbes wrote [3] that “For Blackstone, the IPO will mark the beginning of an exit from one of the biggest bets in its history.”
In July 2016, Blackstone first announced the intention [5] to go public with Invitation Homes at some point in the first half of 2017 in order to capitalize “on a rally in U.S. single-family rental landlords to list the biggest company in the industry.”
In December 2016, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported [6] that Blackstone had “filed confidentially for an initial public offering” with regard to Invitation Homes.
Blackstone created the Invitations Homes unit in 2012 in response to the housing crisis in order to capitalize on the growing demand for rental properties coming largely from people who lost homes to foreclosure in the crisis and were unable to obtain mortgage credit to buy another home.
Blackstone made the largest investment in buyers who attempted to institutionalize the single-family leasing business by buying distressed single-family homes at large discounts and offering them as rental properties to those displaced by foreclosure.
Invitation Homes currently oversees approximately 50,000 housing units, the largest pool of rental homes across 14 of the nation’s metropolitan markets. Blackstone states on its website [7] that the platform creates jobs and provides high quality, affordable housing for families nationwide.
Neither Blackstone nor Invitation Homes immediately responded to a request for comment on the IPO.