Brookfield Property Partners LP, the real estate arm of Canadian alternative asset manager Brookfield Asset Management Inc., acquired GGP Inc., a mall REIT, for a total transaction value of $27.1 billion (including the assumption of debt), according to S&P. GGP's shareholders in July approved the takeover, which analysts have said lowers the overall value of mall REITs.

Welltower Inc., a healthcare REIT, announced in April a joint venture with ProMedica, a not-for-profit regional health system, to buy Quality Care Properties (QCP) and its tenants. QCP provides skilled nursing and memory care/assisted living space, leading analysts at Mizuho Securities USA LLC to write: “Perhaps history will show that a $2 billion+ investment weighted in post-acute/skilled assets was ahead of its time. But given the HCRMC history and the stresses to the nursing home sector, the process to universal acceptance remains in question, and may take time—despite the layers of protections built into the transaction."

With Prologis Inc.'s roughly $8 billion acquisition of smaller competitor DCT Industrial Trust Inc., Prologis, already the largest industrial REIT, will have 71 million sq. ft. of existing and planned space.

Blackstone Group LP said in May it would buy Gramercy Property Trust, an owner of industrial real estate in Europe and the United States. The cash deal is valued at $7.6 billion and follows other moves into industrial real estate by the private equity owner, Bloomberg reported.

Iron Mountain Inc., a REIT that focuses on data centers and information storage services, in May announced it acquired EvoSwitch NL, a Dutch data-center provider, for $235 million.

Net Lease REIT W. P. Carey Inc. said in September it will merge with Corporate Property Associates 17 -- Global Incorporated for a deal worth $6 billion. W. P. Carey advises the publicly-held non-traded REIT. W. P. Carey in a press release said the move will simplify its business and boost its overall portfolio metrics.

Greystar Real Estate Partners in June bought student housing REIT Education Realty Trust for $4.6 billion, through a joint venture between Greystar and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. The move leaves only one student housing REIT, American Campus Communities.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. and Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II, Inc. announced in July the two grocery-anchored shopping center REITs would merge. The transaction is valued at $1.9 billion. The combination "will increase its market prominence as strong leader in grocery-anchored and will have a projected enterprise value of approximately $6.3 billion," Phillips Edison said in a press release.

When Brookfield Asset Management Inc. said it would acquire diversified REIT Forest City Realty Trust, analysts at Evercore ISI called the move a "win-win." Analysts said the price, a 26.6 percent premium, was attractive for Forest City's shareholders.

After LaSalle Hotel Properties originally accepted an offer from Blackstone Group LP to acquire the luxury hotel owner for more than $4 billion, Pebblebrook eventually came out on top. Pebblebrook's deal pencils out to $5.2 billion including debt.

Government Properties Income Trust and Select Income REIT in September announced they will merge to form Office Properties Income Trust. The REIT of 213 properties will focus "on owning, operating and leasing office buildings primarily leased to single tenants and high credit quality tenants like government entities," according to a press release announcing the deal.

Digital Realty Trust Inc. has agreed to buy Ascenty Participações S.A., a Brazilian data center provider, at a time when there is a growing need for data centers. S&P values the deal at $1.8 billion, but noted that the transaction's as-reported value was unavailable. Ascenty's clients include Oracle Corp., Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com, according to Bloomberg.

Strategic Storage Growth Trust Inc. (SSGT) and Strategic Storage Trust II Inc. (SST II) agreed to merge earlier this month. SST II will acquire SSGT for $340 million. SmartStop Asset Management LLC sponsors both REITs.