Equity Residential Prices Common Share Offering

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) today announced the pricing of a public offering of 19 million common shares at $54.75 per share. The Company has also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2.85 million common shares to cover over-allotments, if any. Settlement of the sale will occur on December 4, 2012.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of approximately $1.0 billion net of underwriting fees and estimated expenses to fund a portion of the cash purchase price for the acquisition of assets of Archstone Enterprise LP. If the acquisition is not consummated, the Company plans to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and general company purposes.

Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank Securities and Wells Fargo Securities served as joint book-running managers for the offering. The offering of the common shares will be made under the Company’s existing shelf registration statement. The prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York, 10014, Attention: Prospectus Department, telephone: [phone] or email: [e-mail]; BofA Merrill Lynch, 222 Broadway, New York, New York 10038, Attn: Prospectus Department, email: [e-mail]; Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Attn.: Prospectus Group, 60 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005-2836, telephone: [phone] or email: [e-mail]; and Wells Fargo Securities LLC Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 375 Park Avenue, New York, New York, 10152, telephone: [phone] or email: [e-mail].

A registration statement relating to the common shares has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and has become effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the common shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Any offer or sale will be made only by means of the prospectus supplement and prospectus or authorized free writing prospectus relating to the offering which have or will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential is an S&P 500 company focused on the acquisition, development and management of high quality apartment properties in top U.S. growth markets. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 418 properties located in 13 states and the District of Columbia, consisting of 118,986 apartment units. For more information on Equity Residential, please visit our website at www.equityapartments.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, this press release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions made by management. While Equity Residential’s management believes the assumptions underlying its forward-looking statements are reasonable, such information is inherently subject to uncertainties and may involve certain risks, including, without limitation, changes in general market conditions, including the rate of job growth and cost of labor and construction material, the level of new multifamily construction and development, competition and local government regulation. Other risks and uncertainties are described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and available on our website, www.equityapartments.com. Many of these uncertainties and risks are difficult to predict and beyond management’s control. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, results or events. Equity Residential assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.