Kite will acquire RPAI for about $2.8 billion. The deal will create a mammoth open-air shopping center REIT with 185 properties totaling 32 million square feet, a market cap of $4.6 billion and a value of $7.5 billion. The price Kite agreed to pay was 13% higher than the price at which RPAI’s stock was trading. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

The deal is the latest in a flurry of open-air center REIT mergers fueled in part by investor demand for supermarket-anchored properties. “This merger further demonstrates our conviction in open-air retail centers as essential shopping destinations and last-mile fulfillment centers,” said Kite chairman and CEO John Kite. Kite will expand its board of trustees to 13 and add four trustees from RPAI.

The new, larger REIT will be able to borrow money at cheaper rates and otherwise reduce expenses through economies of scale, Kite said.

It will have an average retail base rent of $19.50 per square foot. About 70% of that base rent will come from supermarkets. About 40% of the base rent will come from the states of Florida and Texas.

It will have a diverse tenant base, with TJX Cos., Best Buy, Ross Stores and PetSmart making up its top four tenants by base rent. It also will have a robust development pipeline, with seven properties totaling 541 million in gross leasable area underway.