CoStar Group reports Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) (NYSE:ELS) has closed on 35 of the 76 manufactured home communities it is acquiring from Hometown America LLC.  These 35 properties represent 12,057 sites in seven states including Florida, Arizona and Michigan.  This $451 million purchase is part of a larger $1.43 billion acquisition of all 76 of Hometown’s communities by ELS.  The purchase was funded by issuing shares of common and preferred stock to the seller, as well as $418 million in cash.  The transfer of the remaining properties is expected to finalize by the end of the year.  The acquisition will give ELS over 140,000 home sites.

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