Irish Residential Properties REIT, the country's largest private landlord, has confirmed that it has been selected as the preferred bidder for a property portfolio owned by US-based Marathon Asset Management.
The portfolio, made up of 815 apartments across 16 different developments around the country, was put on the market for €240m.
But reports suggest that IRES could pay up to €285m for the apartments due to the strong demand among investors for Irish rental properties.
The company's statement follows recent press speculation about such a deal.
In the statement, Ires REIT said it had entered into an "exclusivity agreement" with the vendor about the potential deal.
But it added that the deal is still subject to completion of title due diligence, board approval and exchange of binding contracts.
"Discussions with the vendor on this matter are at an early stage and may or may not result in an agreed transaction," the company said.
It added that a further announcement will be made as soon as is required.
If the deal goes through, it would mark the biggest single sale of buy-to-let properties in the Irish market.
