Arden Realty May Be Next REIT For Buyout
Both the rumor mill and heavy stock trading point to the possibility that
Arden Realty
(ARI) - Get Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Inc Report
, one of Southern California's largest office owners, may become the next real estate investment trust to go private.
The rumor was first published by Barry Vinocur, a veteran REIT industry watcher, in his REIT Newshound note late Thursday.
Vinocur cited an unnamed source who said an announcement is reportedly imminent on a deal that would take Los Angeles-based Arden private. The deal would involve a breakup privatizing Arden, with one or two public REITs also taking pieces of the company, he wrote.
After barely moving for the past month, Arden shares rose 4.5% Thursday to $40.40, with heavy trading volume.
It isn't the first time that Arden has been the subject of buyout speculation. "Management has always indicated there is a price at which to sell," one major institutional investor in the company told
TheStreet.com
.
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Arden didn't return a call seeking comment.
Industry watchers expect more REITs might go private since share prices in the sector have taken a beating recently on interest rate fears.
This year,
Capital Automotive
(CARS) - Get Cars.com Inc. Report
,
Gables Residential
( GBP), and
CRT Properties
( CRO) all approved plans to go private and investors were rewarded with premiums that ranged from 9% to 15%.
