The company had its origins in Equity Finance and Management Company, founded in 1969 by real-estate investor Sam Zell. In 1993, the company acquired a large portfolio of properties from Barry Sternlicht in exchange for a 20% stake in the company. Sternlicht had acquired the properties via government auctions after the savings and loan crisis. On August 11, 1993, the company became a public company via an initial public offering. At that time, the company owned 22,000 apartments. In 1997, the company acquired Wellsford Residential Property Trust for $620 million in stock and the assumption of $346 million of debt and acquired Evans Withycombe Residential for $625 million in stock and the assumption of $432 million in debt. In 1998, the company acquired a portfolio of 5,774 apartments from Lincoln Property Company for $465 million and acquired Merry Land, which owned 34,990 units in the southeast United States, for $1.17 billion in stock as well as $656 million in debt and $270 million in preferred stock. In 1999, the company acquired Lexford Residential Trust for $203 million in stock and the assumption of $530 million of debt. Lexford owned mainly one-story affordable housing units, rented to households with incomes between $25,000 and $35,000. In 2001, the company was added to the S&P 500 Index. In January 2003, CEO Douglas Crocker retired. During his tenure, the company increased its ownership from 22,000 apartments to 227,000 apartments. In 2006, the company sold its Lexford affordable housing division, which included 27,115 apartment units, for $1.09 billion. On February 27, 2013, Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities closed a $9 billion deal to acquire Archstone from Lehman Brothers. In 2013, the company sold 8,010 apartment units to a joint venture of Goldman Sachs and Greystar Real Estate Partners for $1.5 billion. In 2016, the company sold 23,262 apartments to Starwood Capital Group for $5.365 billion. Equity Residential was sued in a class action in 2017 due to allegations that it charged late payment fees in violation of California law. Washington, D.C. attorney general Karl Racine also filed a suit against the company in December 2017, challenging the rent concessions offered by Equity Residential for the purpose of attracting new tenants.
