Sumitomo Forestry Acquires Irving-Based JPI

One of North Texas’ most prolific apartment developers is being acquired by a Japanese logging and construction company.

A subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sumitomo Forestry has bought Irving-based JPI, which is building more than 4,000 rental units in Dallas-Fort worth this year, the Dallas Morning News reported. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, financial news publication Nikkei Asia values the deal at $215 million. The sale is scheduled to close by the end of the year.

Sumitomo, led by president Toshiro Mitsuyoshi, already has an expansive North Texas portfolio and has worked with JPI on previous developments, having invested more than $200 million in seven JPI rental communities over the past four years.

“This acquisition amplifies JPI’s influence in the housing sector and charts a definitive path for JPI’s sustained growth,” JPI Chief Executive Payton Mayes told the outlet.

Mayes and CFO Mollie Fadule, along with other top executives, plan to remain with the company after the acquisition and keep its headquarters in Irving. Mayes and Fadule will also hold a minority stake in the company.

Sumitomo has acquired or bought an ownership share in other prolific DFW homebuilders in the past, including Gehan Homes in 2016 and Bloomfield Homes in 2013.

JPI, founded in 1989, has built more than 110,000 rental units across major U.S. markets. In 2022, the company earned $13 million in pretax profit on $423 million in revenue, the outlet reported, citing data from. Nikkei Asia. This year, the National Multifamily Housing Council called JPI the fastest-growing developer in the nation

The Sumitomo-JPI deal marks the second notable acquisition of a North Texas company this year. Canadian real estate giant Cadillac Fairview purchased Lincoln Property Company’s residential division in March.

—Quinn Donoghue