Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

How does a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) focused on Class B industrial properties in secondary markets command a potential $2.1 billion valuation? Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) is a powerful case study, having grown its portfolio to approximately 32.1 million rentable square feet, maintaining a strong 94.6% total portfolio occupancy as of mid-2025. This performance, which includes driving a 13.0% cash rent increase on new and renewal leases, is why the company's recent agreement to be acquired for $2.1 billion is such a critical inflection point for investors. You need to understand the history, ownership structure, and the mechanics behind their $192.22 million in trailing twelve-month revenue to grasp what comes next, so let's dig into the details.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) History

Given Company's Founding Timeline

You're looking for the origin story of Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM), and it's a classic real estate play: experienced operators spotting an opportunity in a fragmented market. The company was formed in 2010 to own income-producing industrial real estate for the long term, focusing on the kind of properties others might overlook.

Year established

While the initial concept and formation began in 2010, the company formally established itself as a Maryland corporation and a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in 2011.

Original location

The corporate office and headquarters are located in Boston, Massachusetts.

Founding team members

The company was co-founded by two seasoned real estate professionals:

• Jeff Witherell, who serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
• Pendleton White, Jr., who is a Co-Founder, President, and Chief Investment Officer.

Initial capital/funding

The initial major capital raise for the public entity was its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in June 2017, where Plymouth Industrial REIT priced its offering at $19.00 per share, raising approximately $55.1 million in gross proceeds. This funding was crucial for redeeming preferred equity and accelerating property acquisitions.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

The company's trajectory is a clear path from a small, focused portfolio to a significant industrial player, culminating in a massive 2025 acquisition. Here's the quick math on how they scaled their operations and value.

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The two most transformative moments for Plymouth Industrial REIT are the 2017 IPO and the massive acquisition deal in late 2025. The IPO was the starting gun for their public life, but the 2025 deal is the finish line for the current structure.

Going public in 2017 gave them the currency-stock-and the capital structure to start scaling their model of acquiring and managing Class B industrial properties in secondary and select primary markets. This focus on 'last-mile' logistics and light industrial space, often overlooked by larger REITs, was the core of their value creation. You can see more on who bought in Exploring Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

The most recent, and arguably most significant, moment is the October 2025 announcement of the agreement to be acquired by Makarora and Ares Management for $2.1 billion. This single event fundamentally shifts the company's trajectory from an independent, publicly traded REIT to a private entity, validating the value the management team built over the last decade.

What this deal tells you is that the market recognized the inherent value in their strategy. Their trailing 12-month revenue, as of September 30, 2025, was already strong at $192 million, and the market capitalization was sitting at about $984 million just before the deal. The acquisition price reflects a significant premium and a clear belief that their portfolio of distribution centers, warehouses, and light industrial properties is a high-value, long-term asset. This is a massive return for the original investors and a clear exit strategy for the founders.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) Ownership Structure

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) is controlled primarily by institutional investors, a structure typical for a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), but its ownership dynamic is currently dominated by a definitive merger agreement to go private.

As of November 2025, the company is in a transition phase following the October 24, 2025, announcement of its acquisition by entities affiliated with Makarora Management LP and Ares, a transaction valued at approximately $2.1 billion, including assumed debt. This deal, once closed in early 2026, will shift control entirely to the private equity firms, de-registering the stock from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc.'s Current Status

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. is a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) on the NYSE under the ticker PLYM. However, its public status is set to end, making this a near-term risk for investors who prefer a liquid, publicly traded asset.

The company's Board of Directors unanimously approved an all-cash buyout offer of $22.00 per share. This price represented a premium of approximately 50% to the unaffected closing price on August 18, 2025, offering immediate, certain value to shareholders. The 30-day go-shop period, which allowed the company to solicit superior proposals, was scheduled to expire on November 23, 2025, the date of this analysis.

• The total transaction value is approximately $2.1 billion.
• The closing is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, expected in early 2026.
• Post-closing, Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. will become a private company.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc.'s Ownership Breakdown

Before the definitive merger closes, the company's common stock ownership is heavily concentrated in institutional hands, with a significant stake held by insiders, which includes executives and directors. This concentration means that a few large players, like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc., have an outsized influence on corporate governance and strategic decisions, though the recent buyout decision was a board-approved action.

Here's the quick math: Institutional investors hold the majority of the shares, giving them the ultimate say on most shareholder votes, including the pending acquisition. The largest single shareholder is Mirelf VI Reit Investments IV LLC.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc.'s Leadership

The company is steered by a seasoned executive team with deep experience in commercial real estate, averaging over two decades in the industry. This leadership was instrumental in building the portfolio of Class B industrial properties across the US, a strategy that led to the $2.1 billion buyout offer. You can find a detailed analysis of the company's strategic direction in the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM).

The key leaders, as of November 2025, are:

• Jeffrey E. Witherell: Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of the Board. He co-founded the company in 2011 and oversees all business activities.
• Anthony Saladino: President and Chief Financial Officer. He was promoted to President in February 2025, having previously served as Executive Vice President and CFO since February 2022.
• James M. Connolly: Executive Vice President, Asset Management. He directs the operating activities of the property portfolio.
• Anne Alger Hayward: Senior Vice President & General Counsel. She has served in these positions since March 2011.
• Lyndon Blakesley: Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer.

The leadership team's tenure is defintely a factor in the company's stability, with the CEO having over 14 years in the role.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) Mission and Values

Plymouth Industrial REIT's core purpose is to be a full-service, vertically integrated real estate partner, providing tenants with high-quality, essential industrial space while driving long-term value for shareholders through disciplined capital deployment.

Plymouth Industrial REIT's Core Purpose

The company's cultural DNA centers on operational excellence and a partnership approach with its tenants, which is essential for a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on Class B industrial properties-the workhorses of the supply chain. This focus translates directly into their investment strategy, which prioritizes properties in secondary and select primary markets across the United States.

For example, in the second quarter of 2025 alone, Plymouth Industrial REIT acquired 22 industrial buildings totaling 2.05 million square feet for a total of $204.7 million, demonstrating their commitment to scaling their core business in key markets.

Official mission statement

Plymouth Industrial REIT's mission is explicitly focused on the end-user, the tenant, which is a critical distinction in the industrial real estate sector. It's not just about collecting rent; it's about providing a reliable foundation for their customers' operations.

• Provide tenants with cost-effective space.
• Ensure the space is functional, flexible, and safe.

This tenant-centric approach is clear in their leasing results: executed leases commencing in 2025 totaled 5,811,172 square feet, with a strong 13.0% increase in cash rental rates, showing tenants are willing to pay for this quality and service. You defintely want to see that kind of pricing power.

Vision statement

While a formal, one-sentence vision statement is not published, the company's stated strategic objectives and operational focus paint a clear picture of its long-term aspirations. The vision is to be the premier owner and operator of industrial properties that provide both income and growth.

• Enhance shareholder value through active asset management and prudent property re-positioning.
• Leverage the vertically integrated platform to support consistent execution and long-term value creation.
• Maintain a disciplined capital deployment strategy to acquire properties at attractive yields with embedded upside.

They also integrate environmental goals, partnering with the Green Building Initiative to align their objectives with new development, such as achieving a Two Green Globe certification on a completed development in Jacksonville. If you want to dive deeper into the numbers behind this strategy, check out Breaking Down Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Plymouth Industrial REIT slogan/tagline

The company uses a simple, powerful phrase that captures its role in the modern logistics and supply chain economy.

• FROM THE FIRST MILE TO THE LAST MILE.

This tagline perfectly encapsulates their focus on essential industrial real estate-the warehouses and distribution centers that facilitate the movement of goods from manufacturing to final delivery. This is a business built on the backbone of American commerce.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) How It Works

Plymouth Industrial REIT operates as a landlord for the backbone of the American economy, acquiring, owning, and managing industrial properties-warehouses, distribution centers, and light industrial buildings-primarily in the Midwest and Southeast. The company makes money by collecting rent from a diverse roster of tenants, using a vertically integrated model to manage every step from acquisition to property maintenance.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

The company's core product is providing functional, cost-effective industrial space, focusing on assets that are often overlooked by larger, Class A-focused REITs. This strategy targets a massive segment of the logistics and manufacturing market that needs reliable, well-located facilities without the high cost of new, big-box construction.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc.'s Operational Framework

Plymouth Industrial REIT's value creation hinges on a disciplined, full-service approach. They're not just passive owners; they actively manage their portfolio to drive rental rate growth and maintain high occupancy.

• Acquisition Focus: Target Class B industrial assets, often acquired below replacement cost, in secondary markets like Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Jacksonville, which they call the 'Golden Triangle'.
• Value-Add Leasing: Aggressively address below-market leases to capture rent growth. For 2025 commencements, executed leases totaled 5.9 million square feet and showed a strong cash rental rate increase of 13.6%.
• Vertical Integration: A self-managed and self-administered structure means they handle property sourcing, leasing, and management internally, which helps control costs and defintely improves execution.
• Capital Recycling: Deploy capital from asset sales or joint ventures into new, accretive acquisitions. In the second quarter of 2025 alone, they acquired 22 industrial buildings totaling 2.05 million square feet for $204.7 million.

Here's the quick math: With a total portfolio of about 32.1 million square feet across 148 properties as of September 30, 2025, maintaining an occupancy rate of 94.6% (as of June 30, 2025) is the core driver of their $143.94 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2025.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

The company's success comes from exploiting a specific niche in the industrial real estate market that many larger players tend to ignore. It's all about the 'B' in Class B industrial.

• Class B Market Dominance: The focus on Class B assets means less competition from new construction. Over 90% of new industrial buildings in their markets have clear heights of 32 feet or more, which is often overkill for their target small-to-mid-size tenants, so Plymouth's properties remain highly competitive.
• Geographic Diversification: Spreading assets across key secondary markets like Ohio, Indiana, and Georgia mitigates local economic risk and positions them to benefit from the ongoing trend of reshoring and logistics decentralization.
• Embedded Rent Upside: Their portfolio contains leases that are below current market rates. The significant cash rent spread on new and renewal leases, like the 13.0% increase on total leases commencing in Q2 2025, shows they have substantial embedded upside as leases roll over.
• High Occupancy and Retention: Sustained demand from manufacturing and logistics tenants in supply-constrained secondary markets supports high tenant retention, which is crucial for consistent cash flow and is reflected in their 94.6% occupancy rate.

If you want to dig deeper into the investor base driving these trends, you should read Exploring Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) How It Makes Money

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. primarily generates revenue by acquiring, owning, and managing a portfolio of single- and multi-tenant industrial properties, collecting rent from tenants under long-term lease agreements. This model is straightforward: you buy a functional warehouse, you lease it out, and the rent check is your core income. The financial engine is built on the stability of industrial real estate cash flows, supplemented by the organic growth from significant rent increases on renewing leases.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc.'s Revenue Breakdown

As a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), virtually all of Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc.'s income comes from its properties. For the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, the total revenue was approximately $51.2 million. The vast majority is rental revenue, which includes both the base rent and the tenant reimbursements for property operating expenses, a key feature of the industrial triple-net lease model.

Business Economics

The company's business model is built on low-volatility, high-margin cash flow, which is typical for a logistics-focused REIT. This stability comes from two main economic drivers: the lease structure and the fundamental demand for industrial space in secondary markets.

• Triple-Net (NNN) Leases: Many of Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc.'s leases are structured as triple-net (NNN), or modified gross, meaning the tenant is responsible for paying real estate taxes, building insurance, and maintenance costs. This structure shifts operating expenses and inflation risk away from the landlord, making the Net Operating Income (NOI) highly predictable. That's a huge defensive advantage in an inflationary environment.
• Embedded Rent Escalators: Leases often include contractual annual rent escalators, sometimes tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which provides a built-in hedge against inflation and a baseline for organic revenue growth.
• Significant Leasing Spreads: The most compelling organic growth driver is the difference between the expiring rent and the new rent on a lease renewal. Executed leases commencing in 2025 are expected to result in a 13.0% average increase in rental rates on a cash basis. Renewal leases alone saw a 14.7% cash-basis increase, demonstrating that in-place rents are still below market rates, which is a clear opportunity.
• Acquisition Strategy: The company focuses on acquiring industrial properties in secondary, high-growth markets like Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Atlanta. For instance, Q2 2025 acquisitions were secured with an expected initial Net Operating Income (NOI) yield between 6.7% and 7.0%, which is a healthy yield in today's market, plus they have an embedded upside from rolling below-market leases.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc.'s Financial Performance

Looking at the 2025 fiscal year data through the third quarter, the core business health remains solid, even as the reported net income is affected by non-cash and strategic charges. Here's the quick math on the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter for a REIT.

• Funds From Operations (FFO): For the third quarter of 2025, FFO, the key profitability metric for REITs, was $21.1 million, or $0.48 per share. This is the best measure of the company's ability to generate cash flow for dividends, as it adds back non-cash charges like depreciation.
• Net Operating Income (NOI): Q3 2025 NOI was $35.6 million, reflecting the property-level profitability before corporate expenses and interest. Total assets as of September 30, 2025, stood at $1.57 billion.
• Occupancy Rate: The portfolio remains highly occupied, with a total portfolio occupancy of 94.6% as of the end of Q2 2025. High occupancy means stable rental income.
• Near-Term Exit: You should also know about the merger agreement signed in October 2025, which offers shareholders a cash payout of $23.50 per share upon closing in early 2026. This puts a clear, near-term floor on your investment valuation, which is defintely a risk-mitigating factor for current holders.

To understand the strategic direction behind these numbers, you should review the company's long-term objectives: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM).

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) Market Position & Future Outlook

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. is positioned as a high-yield, value-focused player in the industrial real estate sector, specializing in Class B properties in secondary markets, but its near-term outlook is dominated by a potential acquisition. The company is currently on track to deliver a full-year 2025 Core Funds From Operations (FFO) per share of approximately $1.87, demonstrating stable operational performance despite the distraction of a recent unsolicited takeover bid.

You need to understand that the primary driver of Plymouth Industrial REIT's trajectory right now is the offer from Makarora to acquire the company for $2.1 billion, which could fundamentally change its structure and investment profile. Still, operations remain strong, with total portfolio occupancy at 94.6% as of June 30, 2025, validating its focus on functional, cost-effective industrial space.

Competitive Landscape

Plymouth Industrial REIT operates in a highly fragmented, but intensely competitive, industrial REIT space. While it is not a market-share leader by total square footage, its specialization in the Class B segment of the 'Golden Triangle' (the area between Chicago, Florida, and Texas) gives it a distinct advantage over its larger, Class A-focused peers. Here's the quick math on scale among a few key competitors, using rentable square footage as a proxy for market presence as of late 2025:

To be fair, the total market is much larger than just these three, but this comparison shows you the relative scale. Plymouth Industrial REIT is defintely the niche player here, focusing on higher initial yields from its Class B acquisitions, unlike Rexford Industrial Realty, which chases premium rents through redevelopment in the highest-cost markets.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's strategy is clear: acquire below replacement cost and drive value through active management. But this approach comes with capital risks, especially in the current interest rate environment.

Industry Position

Plymouth Industrial REIT is a smaller-cap industrial REIT, but it is highly profitable on an asset-by-asset basis. Its net margin of 47.78% is notably higher than some peers, reflecting the favorable cost structure of its Class B portfolio.

• Valuation is compelling: The stock trades at a price-to-FFO multiple that is a significant discount to the broader industrial REIT sector average (P/E ratio of approximately 7.6 versus a peer average of 15.3).
• The company's focus on secondary and select primary markets means it avoids the intense competition and high acquisition costs of the coastal 'gateway' markets.
• Its vertically integrated platform, which means they manage their properties internally, is a key driver of that strong net margin and efficient property repositioning.

This market position makes it an attractive target for larger private equity firms, which is exactly why the acquisition offer is on the table. For a deeper look at the company's foundational philosophy, you should review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM).