Dive Brief:
- Yugo announced that it acquired Austin, Texas-based student housing operator and real estate investment management firm Campus Advantage and its approximately 40,000 beds across 88 properties in 28 states, in a Sept. 3 news release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- Mike Peter, who founded Campus Advantage in 2003, will become CEO of Yugo U.S. and join the firm’s global leadership team. Jim Sholders will be joining the business as president of Yugo U.S. He previously held the CEO and COO roles at Campus Life & Style and prior to that spent 15 years at American Campus Communities.
- Yugo, which has its U.S. base in Denver, is part of Dubai-based The Dot Group. Its portfolio spans 14 countries and 120 cities and includes 160,000 student customers. The student housing management firm gains 430 associates with the Campus Advantage deal as it plots U.S. expansion.
Dive Insight:
With the acquisition of Campus Advantage, Yugo said it is extending its operational capacity and adding depth of experience to drive accelerated growth in North America. The firm plans to introduce its technology platform and commercial partnerships across the U.S.
“Combining Yugo’s unrivalled global expertise with Campus Advantage’s deep local market knowledge and operational excellence creates the scale and reach to do something truly different,” Nicholas Porter, CEO of The Dot Group, said in the news release.
Campus Advantage did not respond to Multifamily Dive's request for comment. In a statement, Peter said that joining Yugo helps the firm “be part of something bigger with real momentum and provides the scale and scope to elevate our operations and asset values while securing new opportunities for our people, students and clients."
TD Securities acted as advisors to Yugo and the broader Dot Group. Greenberg Traurig and PWC provided legal and tax advice.
The student housing sector has seen a number of significant transactions over the last few years, though they’ve generally revolved around properties changing hands instead of management businesses.
In November 2024, Chicago-based investment management firm Harrison Street sold a U.S. student housing portfolio totaling 14 communities to Chicago-based The Scion Group and a major institutional investor for $893 million. The 8,724-bed portfolio is located across 11 states and 13 universities, including the University of Arkansas, Texas A&M and the University of Missouri.
In April 2024, KKR and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust announced that funds managed by KKR would acquire a portfolio of 19 purpose-built student housing properties from BREIT for approximately $1.64 billion.
Two years earlier, Blackstone’s Core+ perpetual capital vehicles — including Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust and Blackstone Property Partners — acquired Austin-based REIT American Campus Communities, the largest student housing owner, manager and developer in the U.S., in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $12.8 billion, including the assumption of debt.
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