Colonial Properties Trust NYSE: CLP), until today one of Birmingham's remaining public companies, is set to merge with Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. (NYSE: MAA), a Memphis-based company. After the merger, shares of Colonial stock will be transferred to MAA shareholders, and Birmingham will lose another publicly traded firm.

More specifically, each share of Colonial stock will be converted into 0.36 shares of MAA stock. At that level of exchange, original MAA shareholders will own approximately 56 percent of the company post-merger, according to a release, with Colonial shareholders obtaining a combined 44 percent share.

Both Colonial and MAA are REITs, or real estate investment trusts. An REIT is a special corporate vehicle for investing in real estate that proves certain tax advantages. Among other conditions, REITs must distribute at least 90 percent of their annual taxable income to investors to maintain their status.

Post-merger, the new MAA will be a "Sunbelt-focused, publicly traded, multifamily REIT," according to a release published Monday, and will have a market capitalization of $8.6 billion. The company's portfolio will grow to include 285 properties, with 85,000 multifamily units between them. Dallas/Ft. Worth, Atlanta, and Austin will be among the new MAA's most represented markets. The company's headquarters will be located in Memphis.

Thomas Lowder, Colonial CEO, will join MAA's board. H. Eric Bolton, Jr., CEO and chairman of the board for MAA pre-merger, will continue to serve in both those capacities for the post-merger company.

Colonial's share price had increased by nearly 16 percent since the start of the year as of May 21, but then began to slide, and had fallen 10 percent as of Friday's market close.

Colonial reported $5.6 million in earnings in the first quarter of 2013, but that total included a one-time gain of $7.2 million from a sale of some operations. In March, the company

Added at 8:30 a.m.: Here are a few more nuggets of information about this deal, as conveyed by management during a conference call on Monday.

- Owners of Colonial stock will benefit from this deal by way of a dividend increase. MAA pays its shareholders a $2.78 annual dividend, which represents a 19 percent increase for Colonial shareholders post-deal.

- The companies expect to spend about $60 million to get the deal done. That includes roughly $25 million on advisory fees, and $10 million on cash severance for employees.

- The deal includes a $75 million breakup fee; that is, if another bidder comes in and offers more for Colonial, that bidder will also have to pay MAA $75 million to acquire the company.

- The companies declined opportunities to be more specific about how this deal came together, but MAA CEO Eric Bolton did offer that, "It's an idea that has been floated around for years."

- There had been some questions about who would be the next CFO and CEO of Colonial. Current CEO Tom Lowder said this deal answers those questions.