AvalonBay and Equity Residential explore potential merger, reports say

AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential are exploring a potential merger, according to Bloomberg.

The report said the two large U.S. apartment real estate investment trusts have held exploratory talks about a possible combination. It also said the discussions are still at an early stage and that no transaction is assured.

The report was repeated by Investing.com and Bisnow on the same day. Neither company had announced a merger in its most recent investor-relations materials, which were routine quarterly results releases.

If a deal were to emerge, it would be one of the bigger consolidation stories in the apartment REIT sector, where scale can matter for financing, portfolio management and investor returns.

For now, the key point is that the process appears preliminary. The next confirmation would likely come from either company, or from more detailed reporting on how far the talks have progressed.