Single-family rental giant American Homes 4 Rent plans to acquire a smaller Phoenix-area rival for $1.5 billion, part of a consolidation trend in the maturing industry.
American Homes said its acquisition of American Residential Properties Inc. would significantly boost its heft.
The company is the largest publicly traded single-family landlord but still smaller than industry behemoth Invitation Homes, an arm of Blackstone Group.
“There is simply no way to effectively operate in this business without scale,” said David Singelyn, chief executive of American Homes, which will retain its Los Angeles-area headquarters.
The offer is equivalent to a cash price of $19.01 per share, an 8.7 percent premium over American Residential’s closing price Wednesday.
U.S. factory orders rebounded after two monthly declines, helped by rising demand for aircraft, computers and machinery.
Manufacturers have struggled to adjust to a stronger dollar hurting exports, lower oil prices and weak global economic growth.
A separate measure found that U.S. factory activity plunged in November to the lowest level in more than six years.
The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that its index of factory activity in November dropped to 48.6 from 50.1 in October.
The survey registered slower growth last month for business activity, new orders and employment in the services sector.
Average long-term mortgage rates edged lower this week for a third straight week.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 3.93 percent from 3.95 percent a week earlier.
The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages eased to 3.16 percent from 3.18 percent.
