CLEVELAND—Associated Estates Realty Corp. appeared to end a struggle with investor Jonathan Litt yesterday when it announced that its board of directors had approved a $2.5 billion merger with an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management. Since last year, officials from the apartment REIT had been under pressure from Litt to make a sale and in December they agreed to look for a buyer.

The Richmond Heights, OH-based company's portfolio consists of 56 apartment communities containing 15,004 units located in 10 states. According to Forbes, Litt was critical of “a large and persistent discount to its net asset value on public stock markets.” In response, in December 2014 the REIT's board said they were undertaking a thorough business review.

“After analyzing the company's strategy, assets and other opportunities, including running a process involving a number of qualified potential buyers, the board unanimously determined that this transaction is the best course of action to maximize shareholder value,” Jeffrey I. Friedman, chairman and chief executive officer said yesterday in a prepared statement. Company officials were not available for further comment.