Update: Shares of BRE Properties Jump on Bloomberg Report of Possible Company Sale

Shares of BRE Properties Inc. (NYSE: BRE) jumped to new 52 week highs of $61.50, immediately following a Bloomberg report that the company is working with investment bankers at Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) for a possible sale of the company.

Bloomberg reported Essex Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: ESS) has made an offer to acquire BRE Properties for about $5 billion.

BRE Properties Chief Executive Office Constance B. Moore had publicly hinted earlier this year that the company would consider “any legitimate proposal” after an investment firm Land & Buildings had made a $4.6 billion offer valued at $60 a share.

Earlier this year Essex had approached BRE with an offer that was rebuffed.

Essex has been one of the strongest performers in the REIT space, so an acquisition of BRE would create further synergies. BRE owned or had stakes in more than 21,000 apartments mostly in the San Francisco Bay area as of the end of the third quarter. Essex, meanwhile, has ownership stakes in more than 34,000 apartments, mostly in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego.

The proposed acquisition, if approved, would mark the second largest REIT acquisition this year. American Realty Capital Properties purchased Cole Real Estate Investments Inc. for $6.85 billion in October.