For deal sourcers, staying current on private company activity is critical to spotting active buyers, tracking market trends, and uncovering emerging investment opportunities ahead of competitors.
In May alone, we added more than 1,400 new private company transactions, bringing the total to over 24,000 searchable deals across sectors, industries, and transaction types in Dakota Marketplace.
Inside Dakota Marketplace, you’ll find the transactions tab that provides structured, filterable data on deal types, values, and dates, while our editorial team curates daily updates through the Dakota transactions newsletter, helping you cut through the noise and focus on what matters most.
To ensure the most comprehensive coverage of private market activity, Dakota monitors over 10,000 websites including company websites, newswires, and numerous third-party news providers to capture and verify transaction data as it happens.
Below are the top 10 real estate transactions.
- Transaction Date: 5/20/2026
- Industry: Residential REITs
- Type: Real Assets
- Transaction Value: $910M
The Scion Group and Ares Real Estate have established a joint venture to acquire a 12-property, 7,578-bed off-campus student housing portfolio from Harrison Street Asset Management for approximately $910 million, with Scion serving as operating partner across university markets including the University of Florida, Auburn, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and James Madison. The deal marks Scion's first investment alongside Ares and pushes Scion's owned portfolio to over 105,000 beds across 161 communities, cementing its position as the world's largest owner of student housing.
- Transaction Date: 5/4/2026
- Industry: Hotel & Resort REITs
- Type: Real Assets
- Transaction Value: $835M
A joint venture between Sculptor Real Estate and Trinity Investments has acquired the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, a 809-room luxury beachfront resort on Florida's Gulf Coast, from MassMutual in a transaction for undisclosed consideration. The 26-acre property with a quarter mile of private beachfront is considered one of Florida's most iconic luxury resorts, with the new owners planning a disciplined capital improvement program to enhance the guest experience and competitive positioning across its integrated leisure, group events, and private membership club platform.
- Transaction Date: 5/4/2026
- Industry: Real Estate Management & Development
- Type: Real Assets
- Transaction Value: $528M
National Healthcare Properties has agreed to sell a portfolio of 86 outpatient medical facilities for approximately $528 million, with net proceeds of approximately $250 million after defeasance or transfer of roughly $278 million in debt — sharpening the REIT's focus on its senior housing operating portfolio (SHOP) segment, which would represent approximately 60% of total portfolio cash NOI following the transaction and pending SHOP acquisitions. The proceeds, combined with approximately $500 million from NHP's recent IPO, will be used for deleveraging and funding a growing pipeline of SHOP acquisition opportunities.
- Transaction Date: 5/6/2026
- Industry: Real Estate Management & Development
- Type: Acquisition/Merger
- Transaction Value: $360M
Newmark has advised Anheuser-Busch in the $360 million sale of its former Newark, New Jersey facility to Goodman Group, a global industrial real estate developer, transferring one of the largest industrial redevelopment opportunities in the New York metro area. The approximately 86-acre, 1.7 million square foot site adjacent to Newark Liberty International Airport and less than one mile from Port Newark offers flexible zoning for industrial, logistics, data center, and hospitality uses within one of the most supply-constrained logistics corridors in the United States.
- Transaction Date: 5/6/2026
- Industry: Real Estate Management & Development
- Type: Acquisition/Merger
- Transaction Value: $272M
Macerich has acquired Annapolis Mall, a Class A enclosed regional mall totaling approximately 1.5 million square feet in Annapolis, Maryland, for $272 million — comprising $260 million for the mall and $12 million for an adjacent 13.1-acre vacant Sears parcel — with an expected Year 1 yield of approximately 10.5% including signed-not-open leases representing 353,000 square feet of committed tenants opening in 2026–2027. The off-market acquisition gives Macerich the dominant retail position east of Washington D.C. and complements its Tysons Corner property, with the company planning approximately $40 million in additional leasing capital to drive occupancy above 93% and sales productivity above $800 per square foot.
- Transaction Date: 5/13/2026
- Industry: Office REITs
- Type: Real Assets
- Transaction Value: $255M
Drawbridge Realty has acquired Bridgestone Tower, a 30-story, 514,000 square foot Class AA LEED Gold office tower in downtown Nashville, from Highwoods Properties, marking Drawbridge's entry into the Nashville market. The fully leased build-to-suit serves as the global headquarters of Bridgestone Americas, providing Drawbridge with a high-quality, single-tenant asset backed by a major global credit tenant in one of the country's most dynamic office markets.
- Transaction Date: 5/18/2026
- Industry: Industrial REITs
- Type: Real Assets
- Transaction Value: $200M
Investcorp has acquired a diversified portfolio of 19 industrial properties totaling approximately 1.4 million square feet across Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati for over $200 million, with the approximately 97% occupied portfolio leased to a diversified tenant base spanning light manufacturing, logistics, wholesale distribution, and consumer-related businesses. The acquisition advances Investcorp's conviction in U.S. industrial real estate, bringing its total industrial acquisitions to approximately $900 million and over 6.6 million square feet across 13 markets over the past 14 months as the firm capitalizes on constrained new supply and durable demand fundamentals across key logistics hubs.
- Transaction Date: 5/23/2026
- Industry: Specialized REITs
- Type: Real Assets
- Transaction Value: $185M
An affiliate of Phoenix Investors has sold the Colossus I data center — a 217-acre, 785,000-square-foot facility in Memphis, Tennessee known as xAI's first data center — to a subsidiary of SpaceX for $185 million. The transaction reflects Phoenix's expanding platform beyond industrial real estate into data center asset repositioning, capitalizing on surging demand for AI digital infrastructure.
- Transaction Date: 5/14/2026
- Industry: Residential REITs
- Type: Real Assets
- Transaction Value: $167M
R.I.G. Capital has acquired Pavilion Apartments, a 1,115-unit, over 95% occupied apartment complex near O'Hare International Airport in Chicago's Far Northwest Side, from Brookfield Asset Management for $167 million — the largest Chicago apartment deal of 2026. The acquisition continues R.I.G. Capital's systematic expansion of its suburban Chicago multifamily portfolio, following its 2024 purchase of a 579-unit complex in Elk Grove Village for $89 million.
- Transaction Date: 5/20/2026
- Industry: Real Estate Management & Development
- Type: Real Assets
- Transaction Value: $103M
LXP Industrial Trust has acquired the former University of Phoenix headquarters campus, a 628,192-square-foot office complex in Phoenix, for $103 million in an all-cash transaction. The property represents a significant repositioning opportunity in the Phoenix market for the buyer.
At Dakota, we understand how important it is to stay current on deal activity as it happens. That’s why our editorial team continuously monitors the news for real-time updates on platform investments, add-ons, divestitures, and more to deliver daily highlights straight to your inbox through our transactions newsletter.
Inside Dakota Marketplace, the transactions tab provides structured, filterable data with deal dates, types, sectors, and financials, allowing you to build a customized feed that aligns with your focus areas.
Whether you're evaluating a new investment opportunity or tracking trends within a target sector, Dakota Marketplace helps you cut through the noise and focus on what matters most.
For more information on these transactions and a deeper dive into their industries and sub-industries, book a demo of Dakota Marketplace.
