(Bloomberg) -- Mynd, a housing operator that won a $5 billion mandate from Invesco Real Estate funds in 2021, is in advanced talks to merge with Roofstock, as a frozen market for home sales fuels consolidation in the single-family rental industry.

The firms, which use technology to help investors buy, sell and manage rental homes, are nearing a deal that may be announced as soon as this week, although talks could still fall apart, according to people familiar with the negotiations who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. 

A spokesperson for Mynd declined to comment, while a representative for Roofstock didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.  

A deal would reunite Mynd Chief Executive Officer Doug Brien with Roofstock CEO Gary Beasley. The pair previously worked together to build Waypoint Homes, an early aggregator of single-family rentals that was eventually rolled up into Invitation Homes Inc. 

Brien, who played for the San Francisco 49ers and other National Football League teams, went on to found Mynd, initially focusing on building a tech-enabled property management company. Fueled by booming interest in rental houses in 2021, the firm struck a deal to spend as much as $5 billion acquiring homes in a partnership with Invesco.

Separately, Invesco led a $40 million financing round that valued Mynd at about $300 million, Bloomberg reported at the time. Roofstock, which has also taken a tech-focused approach to real estate investing, was valued at nearly $2 billion in 2022.

Sluggish acquisitions, in part due to higher interest rates, have driven more companies in the industry to consolidate. Invitation Homes struck property-management deals with Starwood Capital Group and Nuveen’s real estate arm. Last year, Pagaya Technologies bought property-management firm Darwin Homes. 

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