Real estate investment trusts and the broader markets posted gains Tuesday, Dec. 12, as a European landlord made moves to enter the U.S. with its planned $15.68 billion takeover of an Australian mall giant with a portfolio of stateside malls.
The MSCI US REIT Index (RMZ) rose 0.48% to 1,166.52, and the SNL US REIT Equity Index ticked up 0.40% to 320.33. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.49% to 24,504.80, while the S&P 500 gained 0.15% to end the day at 2,664.11.
Unibail-Rodamco SE is poised to enter the U.S. market with its proposed $15.68 billion buyout of Westfield Corp., but Unibail-Rodamco Chairman and CEO Christophe Cuvillier emphasized that "Westfield is not a proxy" for the country's retail market. The European landlord's foray into the U.S. comes amid a backdrop of declining property values and falling rents in the U.S. retail property market.
VICI Properties Inc., which recently spun off from Caesars Entertainment Corp.'s operating unit, filed a registration statement for an IPO. The maximum offering price, estimated solely to calculate the registration fee, is $100.0 million. VICI plans to seek REIT status.
Equity Commonwealth is working out a deal to sell Groupon Inc.'s headquarters in Chicago to Sterling Bay. The property at 600 W. Chicago Ave. could sell for more than $515 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Equity Commonwealth shares popped 0.83%, closing at $30.41.
Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. and Ashford Hospitality Prime Inc. established new programs to buy back up to $200 million and up to $50 million of their common shares, respectively. The companies also set up at-the-market offering programs for the sale of up to $100 million and up to $50 million of common shares, respectively.
Ashford Trust shares increased 0.60% to close at $6.71, and Ashford Prime shares edged 0.82% higher to close at $9.85.
Colony NorthStar Inc. is proposing to combine its broker/dealer NorthStar Securities LLC with S2K Financial Holdings LLC and to rebrand the combined entity as Colony S2K Holdings LLC. Under a nonbinding letter of intent signed between the parties, Colony NorthStar is contributing NorthStar Securities in exchange for a majority ownership interest in S2K.
Colony NorthStar shares climbed 0.57% to close at $12.28.
Iron Mountain Inc. launched a private placement of $825 million of senior unsecured notes due 2028 and will use part of the net proceeds to fund its acquisition of IO Data Centers LLC. The company's ratings were affirmed by S&P Global Ratings and Moody's following its announcement of the IO Data Centers deal.
Iron Mountain shares dipped 6.88%, ending the day at $37.90.
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