Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP represented Sunrise Realty Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNS) in connection with its acquisition of Southern Realty Trust Inc., a private commercial mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT). The transaction closed on November 5, 2026.

Sunrise Realty Trust, Inc. is a publicly traded commercial mortgage REIT focused on originating and funding commercial real estate loans in the Southern United States.

The Hunton team was led by M&A partner Steven Haas; real estate capital markets practice head Rob Smith and partner Kate Saltz; and tax partner Kendal Sibley and counsel Allison Stelter. The team also included corporate associates Field Daniel, Claire Andress, and David McDonald; tax associate Sarah Colborn; real estate counsel Katherine Pickens; employee benefits/executive compensation partner Robert Cipolla; and labor and employment counsel Tyler Laughinghouse.

In the past five years, Hunton has acted as counsel on 100 REIT M&A transactions aggregating more than $50 billion, and is also the #1 law firm advising on mortgage REIT M&A transactions. Our experience includes mergers between publicly owned REITs, mergers between REITs and C corporations, purchases and sales of private REITs, and purchases and sales of portfolios or portfolio companies by real estate companies.