There have been no material changes to the risk factors that were discussed in Part I, Item 1A of the Company’s and the Operating Partnership’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, except for the following: The Merger is subject to conditions, some or all of which may not be satisfied or completed on a timely basis, if at all. Failure to complete the Merger could have material adverse effects on the Company. The completion of the Merger is subject to a number of conditions, including, among others, the approval of the issuance of shares of the Company in connection with the Merger by the Company’s shareholders, the approval of the Merger by the AvalonBay stockholders and the absence of a law or order restraining, enjoining, rendering illegal or otherwise prohibiting the consummation of the Merger, which makes the completion of the Merger and timing thereof uncertain. In addition, the Company and AvalonBay are entitled to terminate the Merger Agreement under certain circumstances. If the Merger is not completed, the Company’s ongoing business may be materially adversely affected and, without realizing any of the benefits of having completed the Merger, the Company will be subject to a number of risks, including the following: •The market price of the Common Shares could decline; •The Company could owe substantial termination fees to AvalonBay under certain circumstances; •If the Merger Agreement is terminated and the Board of Trustees seeks another business combination, the Company’s shareholders cannot be certain that the Company will be able to find a party willing to enter into a transaction on terms equivalent to or more attractive than the terms agreed to in the Merger Agreement; •Time, resources, and costs committed by the Company’s management team to matters relating to the Merger could otherwise have been devoted to pursuing other beneficial opportunities for the Company; •The Company may experience negative reactions from the financial markets or from its customers, suppliers, employees, labor unions or other business partners; and •The Company will be required to pay its costs relating to the Merger, such as legal, accounting, financial advisory and printing fees, whether or not the Merger is completed. In addition, if the Merger is not completed, the Company could be subject to litigation related to any failure to complete the Merger or to any enforcement proceeding commenced against the Company to perform its obligations under the Merger Agreement, and whether or not any such litigation has any merit, the cost of defending such litigation may be significant. The materialization of any of these risks could adversely impact the Company’s ongoing business. Similarly, delays in the completion of the Merger could, among other things, result in additional transaction costs, loss of revenue, or other negative effects associated with uncertainty about completion of the Merger. The exchange ratio will not be adjusted in the event of any change in either the Company’s or AvalonBay’s stock price. As a result, the Merger Consideration payable to AvalonBay’s stockholders may be subject to change if the Company’s stock price fluctuates. Upon completion of the Merger, each eligible share of AvalonBay Common Stock will be converted into the right to receive 2.793 Common Shares, plus the right to receive cash in lieu of fractional Common Shares, if any, into which such AvalonBay Common Stock would have been converted. The exchange ratio will not be adjusted for changes in the market price of either Common Shares or AvalonBay Common Stock between the date the Merger Agreement was signed and completion of the Merger. Due to the fixed nature 49 Table of Contents of the exchange ratio, fluctuations in the price of Common Shares will drive corresponding changes in the value of the Merger Consideration payable to each AvalonBay stockholder, and accordingly, at the time of the AvalonBay special meeting, AvalonBay stockholders will not know or be able to determine the market value of the consideration they will receive upon completion of the Merger. Factors influencing stock prices include: •Market reaction to the Merger announcement and combined company prospects; •Changes in the respective business, operations, assets, liabilities or financial outlook of either company; •Investor sentiment and perceived likelihood of closing of the Merger; •Economic conditions, geopolitical uncertainties, interest rates, regulatory developments and other factors generally affecting the market prices of Common Shares and AvalonBay Common Stock and the broader financial markets; •Federal, state and local legislation, governmental regulation and legal developments in the businesses in which the Company and AvalonBay operate; and •Other factors beyond the control of the Company and AvalonBay. The price of Common Shares has fluctuated since the date the Merger Agreement was executed, and may continue to fluctuate through the date of each of the Company’s special meeting and the AvalonBay special meeting and the date the Merger is completed. For example, based on the range of closing prices of Common Shares during the period from May 20, 2026, the last trading day before the public announcement of the Merger Agreement, through July 24, 2026, the exchange ratio resulted in an implied value of the Merger Consideration ranging from a high of approximately $195.93 to a low of approximately $179.00 for each share of AvalonBay Common Stock. The actual market value of the Common Shares received by AvalonBay stockholders upon completion of the Merger may result in an implied value of the Merger Consideration outside this range. The Merger Agreement contains provisions that limit the Company’s ability to pursue alternatives to the Merger, which could discourage a potential competing acquirer of the Company from making an alternative proposal and, in specified circumstances, could require the Company to pay substantial termination fees to AvalonBay. The Merger Agreement contains certain provisions that restrict the Company’s ability to initiate, solicit, knowingly encourage or, subject to certain exceptions, engage in discussions or negotiations with respect to, or to approve or recommend, any alternative proposal. Further, even if the Board of Trustees withdraws or qualifies its recommendation with respect to the Share Issuance, the Company will still be required to submit the Share Issuance to a vote at its special meeting. In addition, AvalonBay generally has an opportunity to offer to modify the terms of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement in response to any alternative proposal before the Board of Trustees may withdraw or qualify its recommendation with respect to the Share Issuance. In some circumstances, upon termination of the Merger Agreement in connection with an alternative proposal, the Company may be required to pay a termination fee of approximately $1.005 billion to AvalonBay. This provision could discourage a potential third-party acquirer or merger partner that might have an interest in acquiring all or a significant portion of the Company, or pursuing an alternative acquisition transaction, from considering or proposing such a transaction, even if it were prepared to pay consideration with a higher per-share value than the per-share value proposed to be received or realized in the Merger. In particular, a termination fee, if applicable, could result in a potential third-party acquirer or merger partner proposing to pay a lower price to the Company’s shareholders than it might otherwise have proposed to pay absent such a fee. If the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, and the Company determines to seek another business combination, the Company may not be able to negotiate a transaction with another party on terms comparable to, or better than, the terms of the Merger Agreement. The Merger will result in changes to the Board of Trustees that may affect the strategy of the combined company as compared to that of the Company independently. If the Merger is completed, the composition of the Board of Trustees will change. Immediately following the Merger, the Board of Trustees will consist of fourteen (14) members, seven (7) of whom are current trustees of the Company and seven (7) of whom are current directors of AvalonBay. The composition of the Board of Trustees may affect the business strategy and operating decisions of the combined company upon the completion of the Merger. 50 Table of Contents The Company is subject to business uncertainties and contractual restrictions while the Merger is pending, which could adversely affect the Company’s business and operations. In connection with the pendency of the Merger, some customers, suppliers and other persons with whom the Company has a business relationship have delayed or deferred or may delay or defer certain business decisions or terminate, change, or renegotiate their relationships with the Company as a result of the Merger, which could negatively affect the Company’s revenues, earnings, and cash flows, as well as the market price of the Common Shares, regardless of whether the Merger is completed. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, the Company is subject to certain restrictions on the conduct of its business prior to completing the Merger, which may adversely affect its ability to execute certain of its business strategies, including the ability in certain cases to enter into or amend contracts, acquire or dispose of assets, incur indebtedness, incur capital expenditures, settle litigation, amend organizational documents, declare dividends, enter new business lines and invest in third parties. Such limitations could adversely affect the Company’s businesses and operations prior to the completion of the Merger. Each of the risks described above may be exacerbated by delays or other adverse developments with respect to the completion of the Merger. Uncertainties associated with the Merger may cause a loss of management personnel and other key employees, and the Company and AvalonBay may have difficulty attracting and motivating management personnel and other key employees, which could adversely affect the future business and operations of the combined company or, in the event the Merger is not completed, the Company. The Company and AvalonBay are dependent on the experience and industry knowledge of their respective management personnel and other key employees to execute their business plans. The combined company’s success after the completion of the Merger will depend in part upon the ability of the Company and AvalonBay to attract, motivate, and retain key management personnel and other key employees. Prior to completion of the Merger, current and prospective employees of the Company and AvalonBay may experience uncertainty about their roles within the combined company following the completion of the Merger, which may have an adverse effect on the ability of each of the Company and AvalonBay to attract, motivate or retain management personnel and other key employees. In addition, no assurance can be given that the combined company will be able to attract, motivate or retain management personnel and other key employees to the same extent that the Company and AvalonBay have previously been able to attract or retain their own employees. These same risks apply to the ability of the Company to retain its key management personnel and other key employees, in the event the Merger is not completed. If the Merger is not consummated by the outside date, either the Company or AvalonBay may terminate the Merger Agreement. Either the Company or AvalonBay may terminate the Merger Agreement if the Merger has not been consummated by the outside date in the Merger Agreement. However, this termination right will not be available to a party if that party materially breached any of its obligations under the Merger Agreement and that breach resulted in the failure to consummate the Merger before such date. Any termination of the Merger Agreement may adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. The Company has been and may continue to be the target of securities class action and derivative lawsuits that could result in substantial costs and may delay or prevent the Merger from being completed, whether or not such lawsuits have any merit. Securities class action lawsuits and derivative lawsuits are often brought against public companies that have entered into merger agreements. Even if the lawsuits are without merit, defending against or otherwise resolving these claims can result in substantial costs and divert management time and resources. An adverse judgment could result in monetary damages, which could have a negative impact on the Company’s or the combined company’s liquidity and financial condition. Additionally, if a plaintiff is successful in obtaining an injunction prohibiting completion of the Merger, then that injunction may delay or prevent the Merger from being completed, or from being completed within the expected timeframe, which may adversely affect the Company’s business, financial position and results of operations. The Company’s shareholders will not have appraisal rights or dissenters’ rights in the Merger. Appraisal rights (also known as dissenters’ rights) are statutory rights that, if applicable under law, enable shareholders to dissent from an extraordinary transaction, such as a merger, and to demand that the corporation pay the fair value for their shares as determined by a court in a judicial proceeding instead of receiving the consideration offered to shareholders in connection with the extraordinary transaction. Under Maryland law, dissenting shareholders may have, subject to satisfying certain procedures, the right to demand and receive payment of the fair value of their shares of stock in connection with certain transactions (often referred to as appraisal rights), 51 Table of Contents including a proposed merger, share exchange or sale of substantially all of the assets of the corporation. Under Maryland Real Estate Investment Trust Law and the Company’s declaration of trust, the Company’s shareholders are not entitled to appraisal or dissenters’ rights in connection with the Merger, the Share Issuance or any other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. Completion of the Merger may trigger change in control or other provisions in certain agreements to which Equity Residential, AvalonBay or their respective subsidiaries are a party, which may have an adverse impact on the combined company’s business and results of operations. The completion of the Merger may trigger change in control or other provisions in certain agreements to which Equity Residential, AvalonBay or their respective subsidiaries are a party. If Equity Residential and AvalonBay are unable to obtain certain consents or waivers from the applicable counterparties, the counterparties may exercise their rights and remedies under the applicable agreements, potentially resulting in defaults, accelerations of indebtedness, termination of the applicable agreements, or claims for monetary damages. Even if Equity Residential and AvalonBay are able to negotiate the required consents or waivers, the counterparties may require a fee for such consents or waivers or seek to renegotiate the agreements on terms less favorable to Equity Residential, AvalonBay or the combined company. Any of the foregoing or similar developments may have an adverse impact on the combined company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. The combined company may be unable to successfully integrate the businesses of the Company and AvalonBay and realize the anticipated benefits of the Merger. The success of the Merger will depend, in part, on the combined company’s ability to successfully combine the businesses of the Company and AvalonBay, which currently operate as independent public companies, and realize the anticipated benefits, including synergies, cost savings, innovation, operational efficiencies and reduced cost of capital, from the combination. If the combined company is unable to achieve these objectives within the anticipated time frame, or at all, the anticipated benefits may not be realized fully, or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected and the value of the Common Shares may be harmed. Additionally, as a result of the Merger, rating agencies may take negative actions against the combined company’s credit ratings, which may increase the combined company’s financing costs, including in connection with any financing of the Merger. The Merger involves the integration of the Company’s and AvalonBay’s businesses, which is a complex, costly, and time-consuming process. Neither the Company nor AvalonBay has previously completed a transaction comparable in size or scope to the Merger. The integration of the two companies may result in material challenges, including, without limitation: •The diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business concerns and performance shortfalls at one or both of the companies as a result of the devotion of management’s attention to the Merger; •Managing a larger combined company; •Creating, implementing, and executing a unified business strategy and operational, financial and managerial control with respect to the combined entity; •Maintaining employee morale and attracting, motivating and retaining management personnel and other key employees; •The possibility of faulty assumptions underlying expectations regarding the integration process; •Retaining existing business and operational relationships and attracting new business and operational relationships; •Issues in integrating information technology, operational, safety, communications and other systems, including maintaining cybersecurity and data privacy protections and avoiding security breaches, data loss, or service interruptions during the integration of the combined company’s systems; •Consolidating corporate and administrative infrastructures and eliminating duplicative operations and inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures and policies; •Coordinating geographically separate organizations; •Legislative, regulatory and economic developments, including the level of new multifamily communities construction and development, government regulations and competition, that may restrict or adversely impact the combined company’s business operations; •Expansion of rent control, rent stabilization, eviction moratoriums or other regulations that restrict the methods and strategies of the combined company’s business; and •Unforeseen expenses or delays associated with the Merger. 52 Table of Contents Many of these factors will be outside of the combined company’s control and any one of them could result in delays, increased costs, decreases in the amount of expected revenues and diversion of management’s time and energy, which could materially affect the combined company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows. The Company and AvalonBay have operated, and until completion of the Merger will continue to operate, independently. The Company and AvalonBay have not yet determined the exact nature of how the businesses and operations of the two companies will be combined after the Merger. The actual integration may result in additional and unforeseen expenses, and the anticipated benefits of the integration plan may not be realized. In particular, the integration of two large multifamily REIT platforms—each with its own property management systems, technology platforms, employee benefit plans, and corporate cultures—presents significant operational challenges. Integration costs may exceed current estimates, and the combined company may incur significant one-time charges in connection with the integration. The Company’s shareholders will have a reduced ownership and voting interest after the Merger and will exercise less influence over the policies of the combined company than they now have on the policies of the Company. The Company’s shareholders presently have the right to vote in the election of the Board of Trustees and on other matters affecting the Company. Immediately after the Merger is completed, it is expected that the Company’s legacy shareholders will own approximately 49% of the combined company’s common shares outstanding and AvalonBay’s legacy stockholders will own approximately 51% of the combined company’s common shares outstanding. As a result, the Company’s current shareholders will have less influence on the policies of the combined company than they now have on the policies of the Company as an individual company. The future results of the combined company may be adversely impacted if the combined company does not effectively manage its expanded operations following the completion of the Merger. Following the completion of the Merger, the size of the combined company’s business will be significantly larger than the current size of either the Company’s or AvalonBay’s respective businesses. The combined company’s ability to successfully manage this expanded business will depend, in part, upon management’s ability to design and implement operational, managerial, financial and strategic initiatives that address not only the integration of two independent stand-alone companies, but also the increased scale and scope of the combined business with its associated increased costs and complexity. There can be no assurances that the combined company will be successful or that it will realize the expected operating efficiencies, synergies, cost savings and other benefits currently anticipated from the Merger. The combined company is expected to incur substantial expenses related to the completion of the Merger and the integration of the Company and AvalonBay. The combined company is expected to incur substantial expenses in connection with the completion of the Merger and the integration of the Company and AvalonBay. There are a large number of processes, policies, procedures, operations, technologies and systems that must be integrated, including purchasing, accounting and finance, sales, payroll, pricing, revenue management, marketing and benefits. The substantial majority of these costs will be non-recurring expenses related to the Merger (including any financing of the Merger), facilities and systems consolidation costs. The combined company may incur additional costs to retain employees and/or maintain employee morale and to attract, motivate or retain management personnel and other key employees. The Company and AvalonBay will also incur transaction fees and costs related to formulating integration plans for the combined business, and the execution of these plans may lead to additional unanticipated costs. Additionally, as a result of the Merger, rating agencies may take negative actions with regard to the combined company’s credit ratings, which may increase the combined company’s financing costs, including in connection with any financing of the Merger. These incremental transaction and Merger-related costs may exceed the savings the combined company expects to achieve from the elimination of duplicative costs and the realization of other efficiencies related to the integration of the businesses, particularly in the near term, and in the event there are material unanticipated costs. In connection with the Merger, the combined company may refinance a significant amount of indebtedness and cannot guarantee that it will be able to obtain the necessary funds on favorable terms or at all. In connection with the Merger, the combined company may seek to refinance some or all of the indebtedness of each of the Company and AvalonBay or, alternatively, seek any waivers or amendments that may be necessary or advisable to permit certain indebtedness to remain outstanding following the Merger. The combined company’s ability to obtain such refinancing, waivers or amendments will depend on, among other factors, prevailing market conditions and other factors beyond the control of the combined company. The Company cannot assure you that the combined company will be able to obtain financing on terms acceptable to the combined company or at all, and any such failure could materially adversely affect the operations and financial conditions of the 53 Table of Contents combined company. If the combined company is not able to obtain such refinancing, waivers or amendments, it may be required to repay some or all of such indebtedness upon consummation of the Merger. Under such circumstances, the combined company may not have sufficient resources to repay such indebtedness. Completion of the Merger is not conditioned on completing such financing transactions. The combined company will have significantly greater indebtedness than the Company on a standalone basis, which may adversely affect the combined company’s financial flexibility and increase its exposure to interest rate risk. The significantly increased level of indebtedness of the combined company following the closing of the Merger may limit the combined company’s financial flexibility, increase its exposure to interest rate fluctuations, and require a greater portion of the combined company’s cash flows to be dedicated to debt service. A significant portion of the combined company’s indebtedness may bear interest at variable rates, and increases in interest rates could materially increase the combined company’s interest expense and adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations. Following the Merger, the combined company’s indebtedness, under certain circumstances, contains restrictions and limitations that could significantly impact the combined company’s ability to operate its business and increase its borrowing costs. Following the Merger, the combined company’s consolidated indebtedness may have the effect of, among other things, increasing borrowing costs. In addition, the amount of cash required to service the indebtedness levels will be greater than the amount of cash flows required to service the indebtedness of Equity Residential and AvalonBay individually prior to completion of the Merger. The level of indebtedness of the combined company following the Merger could also reduce or limit dividend payments, share repurchases, and other activities and may create competitive disadvantages relative to other companies with lower debt levels. The combined company may be required to raise additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, or other general corporate purposes. Following the Merger, the combined company’s ability to arrange additional financing or refinancing will depend on, among other factors, its financial condition and performance, as well as prevailing market conditions, the terms of third-party debt financing incurred in connection with the consummation of the Merger (if any), and other factors beyond its control. There can be no assurance that the combined company will be able to obtain additional financing or arrange refinancing on terms acceptable to it or at all, and any such failure could materially adversely affect its operations and financial condition. Additionally, the combined company expects that the agreements that will govern the terms of its indebtedness will contain a number of restrictive covenants (including, without limitation, financial maintenance covenants) that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on the combined company and may limit its ability to engage in acts that may be in its long-term best interest. Moreover, the combined company’s ability to satisfy any financial maintenance covenants may be affected by events beyond its control and, as a result, it cannot provide assurance that it will be able to satisfy any such covenants. Following the Merger, a breach of the covenants under the agreements that will govern the terms of any of the combined company’s indebtedness could result in a default or an event of default under the applicable indebtedness agreement. Such an event of default or a default that matures into an event of default may allow the applicable creditors to foreclose on any collateral for such debt, accelerate the related debt, and/or terminate any related commitments to extend further credit and may result in a default or an event of default under or the acceleration of any other debt to which a cross-acceleration or cross-default provision applies. In the event debtholders accelerate the repayment of the combined company’s indebtedness, the combined company may not have sufficient resources to repay such indebtedness. Following the Merger, the combined company cannot assure you that it will be able to pay dividends at or above the rate currently paid by the Company or AvalonBay. Following the Merger, the combined company is expected to pay an initial annualized dividend equivalent to the Company’s existing dividend per share, which is higher than AvalonBay’s current dividend yield per share. However, there can be no guarantee that shareholders of the combined company will receive dividends at the same rate, or any rate, that they received as shareholders of the Company or stockholders of AvalonBay prior to the Merger. Dividend payments are subject to the discretion of the Board of Trustees, which reserves the right to change the combined company’s dividend policy at any time and for any reason, including as a result of the other risk factors discussed in this section. The combined company may incur adverse tax consequences if the Company or AvalonBay has failed or fails to qualify as a REIT. Each of the Company and AvalonBay has operated in a manner that it believes has allowed it to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and intends to continue to do so through the time of the Merger. The combined company intends to continue operating in such a manner following the Merger. Neither the Company nor AvalonBay has requested or plans to request a ruling from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) that it qualifies 54 Table of Contents as a REIT. Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Code provisions for which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations. The determination of various factual matters and circumstances not entirely within the control of the Company or AvalonBay may affect each company’s ability to qualify as a REIT. In order to qualify as a REIT, each of the Company and AvalonBay must satisfy a number of requirements, including requirements regarding the ownership of its stock and the composition of its gross income and assets. Also, a REIT must make distributions to stockholders aggregating annually at least 90% of its net taxable income, excluding any net capital gains. The closing of the Merger is conditioned on receipt by the Company of an opinion from Goodwin Procter LLP (or other nationally recognized tax counsel reasonably acceptable to the Company), dated as of the closing date of the Merger, substantially in the form attached to the Merger Agreement, to the effect that, beginning with its taxable year ended December 31, 1994 and through its taxable year ending immediately prior to the Effective Time, AvalonBay has been organized and operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, and receipt by AvalonBay of an opinion from DLA Piper LLP (US) (or other nationally recognized tax counsel as may be reasonably acceptable to AvalonBay), dated as of the closing date of the Merger, substantially in the form attached to the Merger Agreement, to the effect that, beginning with its taxable year ended December 31, 1992, the Company has been organized and operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, and the Company’s proposed method of organization and operation will enable it to continue to satisfy the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code for its taxable year which includes the closing date of the Merger and thereafter. The foregoing REIT opinions, however, will be based on the factual representations provided by the Company and AvalonBay to counsel and limited by the exceptions, assumptions and qualifications set forth therein, and if any such representations are or become inaccurate or incomplete, such opinions may be invalid and the conclusions reached therein could be jeopardized. The foregoing REIT opinions are not a guarantee that the Company or AvalonBay, in fact, has qualified, or, in the case of the combined company, will continue to qualify, as a REIT, nor are such opinions binding on the IRS and there can be no assurance that the IRS will not take a contrary position or that such position would not be sustained. If, notwithstanding the opinions described above, the Company (or, following the Merger, the combined company) loses its REIT status, or is determined to have failed to qualify as a REIT in a prior year, it will face serious tax consequences that would substantially reduce the funds available for distribution to its shareholders, because: •It would be subject to U.S. federal, state and local income tax on its net income at regular corporate rates for the years it did not qualify as a REIT (and, for such years, would not be allowed a deduction for dividends paid to shareholders in computing its taxable income); •It could be subject to a U.S. federal alternative minimum tax, stock buyback excise tax, and possibly increased state and local taxes for such periods; •Unless it is entitled to relief under certain U.S. federal income tax laws, neither it nor any “successor” company could re-elect REIT status until the fifth calendar year after the year in which it was disqualified as a REIT; •If it were to re-elect REIT status, it would have to distribute all earnings and profits from non-REIT years before the end of the first new REIT taxable year; and •For five years following re-election of REIT status, upon a taxable disposition of an asset owned as of such re-election, it could be subject to U.S. federal corporate level income tax with respect to any built-in gain inherent in such asset at the time of re-election. Even if the Company (or, following the Merger, the combined company) retains its REIT status, if AvalonBay is determined to have lost its REIT status for a taxable year ending on or before the Merger, AvalonBay would be subject to adverse tax consequences similar to those described above. This could substantially reduce the combined company’s funds available for distributions to shareholders, because, assuming that the combined company otherwise maintains its REIT qualification: •The combined company generally would be subject to U.S. federal corporate level income tax with respect to the built-in gain on each asset of AvalonBay existing at the time of the Merger if the combined company were to dispose of the AvalonBay asset during the five-year period following the Merger; •The combined company would succeed to any earnings and profits accumulated by AvalonBay for taxable periods that it did not qualify as a REIT, and the combined company would have to pay a special dividend and/or employ applicable deficiency dividend procedures (including interest payments to the IRS) to eliminate such earnings and profits (or if the combined company does not timely distribute those earnings and profits, the combined company could fail to qualify as a REIT); and •If AvalonBay incurred any unpaid tax liabilities, including penalties and interest, prior to the Merger, those tax liabilities would be transferred to the combined company as a result of the Merger. If there is an adjustment to AvalonBay’s taxable income or dividends paid deductions, the combined company could elect to use the deficiency dividend procedure in order to maintain AvalonBay’s REIT status. That deficiency dividend procedure could require the 55 Table of Contents combined company to make significant distributions to its shareholders and to pay significant interest to the IRS. As a result of all these factors, the Company’s or AvalonBay’s (or, following the Merger, the combined company’s) failure to qualify as a REIT could impair the combined company’s ability to expand its business and raise capital, and would materially adversely affect the value of its common shares.