Washington, D.C. — Acumen Cos. is spearheading an initiative to create a new publicly traded company or real estate investment trust (REIT) through a newly created special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on the NASDAQ exchange. If successful, the company will create the first publicly traded student housing REIT since 2022, when American Campus Communities was taken private. According to Acumen, the company has been deploying $450 million in equity through fund-to-fund investments, limited partner stakes and co-general partner positions across a number of student housing assets.
“These investments have given us a comprehensive view of the landscape — from institutional players to mid-market operators,” says AZ Abiud of Acumen. “Our objective is to roll up, consolidate and aggregate our existing investments while also strategically acquiring or bolting on as many purpose-built student housing and shadow multifamily assets as possible.”
As part of its strategy, Washington-based Acumen plans to identify and acquire or merge with a third-party management company, which will serve as the operator for all properties that go public under its platform. Abiud states that the company is aggressively looking for properties to join the publicly traded platform, as well as an operating partner to acquire.
“Student housing presents a strong and enduring growth potential, making this an opportune moment to bring this niche asset class back to the public eye,” says Abiud. “We believe that returning student housing to the public markets will create substantial benefits for both investors and operators.”