Multifamily REIT Aimco Liquidating
Apartment Investment and Management Co. (Aimco), once a major multifamily REIT, is now in liquidation mode. The company announced it is winding down operations and distributing proceeds from asset sales to shareholders. The move serves as a stark reminder for REIT investors to monitor not just performance metrics but also management's strategic direction and debt load.
The 2020 spin-off of Apartment Income REIT (ticker: AIRC), better known as AIR Communities, was a pivotal moment for Aimco. This move separated Aimco's stabilized, income-producing properties into a new, publicly traded entity, leaving Aimco to focus on development, redevelopment, and more opportunistic investments. The strategy was to unlock value by creating a "pure-play" apartment investment vehicle in AIR, while Aimco pursued higher-growth projects. Following a comprehensive strategic review that involved discussions with over 100 firms, Aimco's board concluded that an orderly liquidation and sale of its remaining assets would deliver the highest value to shareholders. The company's portfolio had a "disparate composition," and selling the assets in multiple transactions was deemed superior to other options, including selling the company whole or maintaining the status quo. Shareholders approved the Plan of Sale and Liquidation in early February 2026. As part of the liquidation, Aimco entered into a definitive agreement in late 2025 to sell its seven-property Chicago-area portfolio for $455 million. The buyer was a partnership between LaTerra Capital Management and Respark Residential. This portfolio of 1,495 units consists of a mix of high-rise, mid-rise, and garden-style apartments primarily in suburban markets like Elmhurst, Lombard, Rolling Meadows, and Evanston, as well as one property in Chicago's Hyde Park. The net proceeds from the Chicago portfolio sale are expected to be approximately $160 million after accounting for existing debt and transaction costs. These funds, along with proceeds from other major asset sales like the $520 million deal for its Brickell Assemblage in Miami, are being distributed to shareholders through a series of special dividends. Aimco has estimated total liquidating distributions to fall between $5.75 and $7.10 per share. An initial liquidating distribution of $1.45 per share was paid in March 2026.
