Sun Life Financial, a financial services firm based in Toronto, is acquiring Bell Partners, a property management company with around 70,000 apartments across the country, headquartered in Greensboro.
The $350 million deal is set to be finalized in the latter half of 2026, according to a statement from Sun Life. Bell’s assets under management of approximately $10 billion will merge with Sun Life’s BGO, a global real estate manager based in New York. Together, the combined assets under management will exceed $100 billion.
Bell Partners will serve as the U.S. multifamily operating platform under Sun Life, operating within BGO. Positioned for further growth in multifamily housing, the Triad company will maintain its current leadership, property-level branding, and office locations.
Sun Life described the acquisition as a union of two complementary platforms, in response to growing investor demand for top-tier multifamily exposure in the U.S. housing market. Steve Bell founded the business in 1976 with eight small apartment complexes and shopping centers, which has since grown to employ nearly 1,800 people across nine offices in the U.S.
Bell’s son, Jon, now serves as chairman, with Lili Dunn as CEO and Cindy Clare as chief operating officer. Bell’s wife and he have been generous donors to institutions like UNC Chapel Hill and Cone Health, contributing $7.5 million last year to establish a heart treatment center at Cone Health, known as the Steven D. Bell Family Heart & Vascular Center in Greensboro.
