REIT vs. Deal Syndication

[Andy Gross]

I've been listening to Michael Blank's podcast after he was a guest on the BP podcast, and he talked about deal syndication. I think I understand the concept of syndicating a deal, but how is that different than forming a REIT? I know a REIT has to have 100+ shareholders, and a syndicator can do a deal with 1 or 2 investors. Is it accurate to say that a REIT operates like a holding company, and that investors have invested in a pool of funds rather than individual properties? Is it possible to make the leap from syndicated deal to REIT? How so? I ask because I am trying to wrap my head around these concepts, and my research hasn't yielded the proper framework yet.