MAA's merger with Post Properties in December 2016 brought the combined firm, which retains the name MAA, to an equity market capitalization of $11 billion with a portfolio of about 101,000 apartments in 17 states. The transaction yielded the Memphis, Tenn.–based company not only a G&A expense savings of $20 million, but also an ongoing NOI margin increase for the future.
That's the way Eric Bolton, MAA's CEO, laid out the transaction while defining the vision for and purpose of the merger and the benefits it offered residents, shareholders, and employees alike, as he describes in this short video.
Bolton’s enthusiasm and passion for the merger set the tone at the top so that MAA's leadership could understand and be able to communicate the shared vision quickly.
Bolton also recently spoke with REIT magazine about the outlook for multifamily REITs, MAA’s operating philosophy, and the essential ingredients behind the firm's annualized total shareholder return of 15% over the past 15 years.
The MAA–Post merger brought to light the skill and dedication Bolton possesses for developing a strategy to achieve long-term performance objectives along with building an organization and a brand that support that execution.
In the REIT interview, Bolton shares:
It is critical that four areas reconcile with each other: your objective, strategy, execution plan, and brand. It’s stimulating and rewarding to keep thinking about these four topics in order to ensure we’re coming to work each day focused on trying to get better and build platform strength. I get a big kick out of putting it all together.
