SRG Residential, the Newport Beach-based apartment management arm of Sares Regis Group, is merging with Indianapolis developer Milhaus in a deal that will create a 50,000-unit multifamily platform with $2.5 billion in developments planned or underway.

The combined company will employ 1,400 people and maintain a corporate office in Newport Beach, according to the Orange County Business Journal, which first reported the deal Monday, July 20.

SRG Residential manages more than 190 apartment communities and 46,000 units nationwide. Before the merger, Milhaus managed fewer than 10,000 units across 31 properties and had more than $2.2 billion in assets under management as of June 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"There was no reason to compete if we could do it together and hopefully make one plus one equal three," Milhaus CEO Tadd Miller told the Business Journal. "This is much more of a growth story than it is a consolidation story."

Miller said SRG had been looking to expand east of the Mississippi while Milhaus wanted to push westward. The deal gives both companies geographic reach they lacked on their own.

Chris Payne, former CEO of SRG Residential, will become Milhaus's chief development officer and a shareholder in the privately held company. Jeff Bailey, president of property management at SRG Residential, will continue leading the combined property management group. Brad Howe will serve as chief investment officer alongside Broadshore Capital Partners principals Russell Munn and James Pomeranz, who join as part owners after Milhaus also agreed to acquire the Los Angeles-based investment manager and lender.

Indianapolis will remain Milhaus's headquarters, but the company will keep corporate offices in Newport Beach, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando and Phoenix.

The merger follows a broader industry trend toward vertical integration, where companies control every stage from raising capital to developing and managing apartment communities. Miller pointed to Irvine Company, the Orange County-based apartment and office giant, along with Greystar and Related Companies as models. He said rising regulation, technology costs and training demands make scale essential.

"You can't provide high-quality management and service investors anymore as a small operator," Miller said. "You just can't get your hands on the data."

The deal is expected to close later this summer. Miller told the Business Journal the combined company is already negotiating additional acquisitions.