Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF-T) is making a multibillion-dollar investment to expand its real estate holdings, acquiring 100 per cent stakes in BGO and Crescent Capital Group, and announcing a deal to acquire U.S. multifamily property company Bell Partners Inc.

Sun Life, a Toronto-based financial services firm that is among Canada’s largest, said Monday afternoon it paid $1.59 billion for the remaining 44 per cent stake it did not already own in Miami-headquartered real estate company BGO. For Los Angeles-based credit investment manager Crescent Capital, it paid $829 million for the remaining 49 per cent stake.

Both companies will fall under Sun Life Capital Management (SLC Management), Sun Life’s asset management wing.

"BGO and Crescent are industry leading businesses and integral to our strategy for Sun Life Asset Management,” Kevin Strain, president and CEO of Sun Life, said in the announcement of the transactions. "The completion of our BGO and Crescent buy-ups reflect our confidence in their leadership, performance and long‑term growth."

Also on Monday, Sun Life said it plans to acquire a 100 per cent interest in Greensboro, N.C.-based Bell Partners, a private apartment investment and management company, for US$350 million. In conjunction with that announcement, BGO also disclosed it has entered into an agreement with Bell to combine the businesses.

Noting the U.S. multifamily market as a “tremendous opportunity of targeted growth for BGO,” the acquisition of Bell “broadens BGO's strategic benefits and gives us vertically integrated property management capabilities,” said Sonny Kalsi, president and CEO of SLC Management.

SLC brings in BGO and Crescent

For BGO, being brought fully into the Sun Life fold is a homecoming. Sun Life formed BGO in 2019 by merging Bentall Kennedy with GreenOak. BGO, a real estate investment management advisor and real estate services provider, had approximately US$90 billion of assets under management as of Dec. 31.

In 2021, Sun Life acquired a 51 per cent stake in Crescent for $450 million. As of Dec. 31, Crescent had approximately US$50 billion of assets under management.

Sun Life said BGO and Crescent have both been strong performers, generating a combined $4.2 billion in fee-related revenue. Their combined assets under management grew from $115 billion to $165 billion.

"We're entering the next phase of SLC growth with opportunities to unlock our platform through cross platform synergies, wealth management opportunities, innovative solutions and partnerships,” Steve Peacher, executive chair of SLC Management, said in a release.

SLC Management managed $260 billion of third-party assets for more than 1,400 institutional clients and $165 billion of Sun Life's general account assets as of Dec. 31.

BGO, Bell to combine as result of transactions

The planned combination of BGO and Bell will see Bell continue to operate as a distinct, vertically integrated business under BGO. The arrangement is designed to achieve a series of goals, including further expansion in multifamily and multifamily-adjacent strategies.

Upon closing of the transaction, Bell will continue to operate under its current leadership. It will also keep its property-level branding, office locations, investment vehicles and client focus, Sun Life said.

The combined business of BGO and Bell is expected to account for over $100 billion of assets under management.

Bell Partners, founded in 1976, completed approximately US$11.9 billion of realized apartment transactions since 2002. In 2025 it completed over US$1.3 billion in acquisitions. Bell manages approximately 70,000 apartments across the U.S.

Sun Life’s acquisition of Bell is anticipated to close later this year, subject to regulatory and Toronto Stock Exchange approvals and customary closing conditions.

"We're excited to welcome Bell Partners to BGO and SLC Management,” Kalsi said. “Their team's deep expertise in the multifamily real estate and market cycles will strengthen our organization, while the acquisition supports expanding our array of investment solutions available to our clients."

A driving factor behind the combined business with a focus on U.S. multifamily housing is the country’s housing market. Investor demand for institutional-quality multifamily exposure in the U.S. is growing, BGO said, with “resilient housing fundamentals” and “structural undersupply” also affecting the country.

"This partnership reflects our strong conviction in the U.S. multifamily market and underscores our commitment to building deep expertise in sectors where we believe there is significant long-term opportunity," Amy Price, co-president of BGO, said in a release.