Leadership transitions dominated headlines during the week endingJuly 15.

Out with the old, in withthe new

* DDR Corp.made the surprise announcement Monday that it terminated David Oakes as its president, CEO and interimCFO.

The company appointed DCTIndustrial Trust Inc. Chairman ThomasAugust to succeed Oakes as president and CEO, and DDR Executive VicePresident and Chief Accounting Officer Christa Vesy as interim CFO. The changes,including the appointment of Vincent Corno as executive vice president of leasingand development, are effective immediately.

Mizuho Securities USA analyst Haendel St. Juste said in a reportthat August denied that DDR is pursuing a sale. "However, while industry observersbelieve a sale it is not a likely n/t event, they do view the probability todayas higher vs last week," the analyst said. "And given the improved natureof DDR's portfolio and b/s, August's experience, prior tenure with Blackstone andsale of Prentiss (to Highwoods), we agree."

He added that August's stated focus is to provide stable leadershipand a clear strategy. St. Juste noted that a private buyer is the most likely suitorin the event a sale comes to pass.

* HCP Inc.said Monday that Lauralee Martin resignedas the company's president and CEO.

Executive Chairman MichaelMcKee is taking over those roles in the interim, as the company looksfor a permanent successor. Martin also relinquished her seat on the company's board.Analysts pegged her likelysuccessor to come from within the company.

* On the CFO front, FederalRealty Investment Trust is bringing in Dan Guglielmone from to as its new CFO, executive vicepresident and treasurer, effective Aug. 15. He will succeed James Taylor, who recentlystepped down to becomepresident and CEO of Brixmor PropertyGroup Inc.

* And Hilton WorldwideHoldings Inc. appointedJames Mikolaichik, a former Manning& Napier Inc. executive, to serve as CFO of Hilton Grand Vacationsahead of its projected spinofflater in 2016. He will take over the position in August and will report to HiltonGrand Vacations President and CEO Mark Wang.

* In board news, GeneralGrowth Properties Inc. CEO Sandeep Mathrani has joined HostHotels & Resorts Inc.'s board. Host Hotels said Wednesday that Mathrani'sappointment expands its board to 10 directors from nine.

On the ballot

Apple HospitalityREIT Inc. and Apple REITTen Inc. said in a joint Wednesday filing that their respective shareholderswill vote on the proposed$1.3 billion merger atseparate meetings Aug. 31. Under the terms of the deal, Apple Hospitality will pay $94 million in cash andwill issue 49.1 million common shares to Apple REIT Ten shareholders.

Late arrival

Morgans Hotel GroupCo., which is in the process of beingacquired by SBE, revealed in a Monday filing that an unnamed party in potentiallyacquiring at least 50% of the company's assets or stock. The company said it isfurnishing non-public data to the bidder with the potential for further discussions.

The possible offer could derail the SBE deal, which has an enterprise value of roughly$794 million and a projected third- or fourth-quarter closing. Three class-actionlawsuits filed in Delaware and another class action filed in New York are also seeking to block the transaction.

Taking it inside

Pure Multi-FamilyREIT LP announced this week that it plans to internalize its management once it closes a bought-deal offeringthat it expects will bring its market capitalization to over $300 million for 10consecutive trading days. Should that happen, the company will be able to end itsasset management agreement at no cost. The current leadership team will remain intact.

The offering, expected to bring in about C$33.9 million, shouldclose on or about July 29.

East Coast, West Coast

* Carey WatermarkInvestors 2 Inc. purchasedthe 27-story San Jose Marriott hotel in California's Silicon Valley market for $154million. The company said Thursday it used $88 millionof senior debt to finance its purchase of the recently renovated hotel, which contains510 rooms, 23,000 square feet of meeting and event space, and other amenities.

* Columbia PropertyTrust Inc. said Tuesday it offloadeda 40-acre property with a 393,000-square-foot office building in Gaithersburg, Md.,to SunCap Property Group. The company fetched $48 millionin gross proceeds from the sale, which will go toward cutting borrowings on itsrevolving credit facility.

* Kennedy-WilsonHoldings Inc. disclosed Wednesday that it picked up the 430-unit Belara at Lakeland multifamily communityin Auburn, Wash., expanding its footprint in the Seattle area.The company paid $81 million for the property, which it funded with a $62.6 millionFreddie Mac and a $19 million equity investment.

* American HotelIncome Properties REIT LP announced Wednesday that it struck a roughly$57.6 million deal to acquiretwo hotels in Tempe, Ariz., and Dallas. The hotels, which contain 529 rooms, operateunder the Embassy Suites by Hilton brand. The companywill partially fund the acquisition using some of the net proceeds from its bought-dealoffering of units and a roughly $17.4 million unit issuance. The should be finalized by early September.

Now featured

Data Dispatch:A jump from year-end discount — US REITs trade at a premium to NAV of 8.4%:The "other" retail sector had the greatest premium to NAV, while the officesector had the greatest discount to NAV.

Data Dispatch:US equity REITs' capital-raising activity down 16.5% in H1'16: Yearover year, common equity raised was down 43.9% at $11.19 billion, compared to $19.96billion raised during the first half of 2015.

Data Dispatch:Real estate ETF usage continues to grow in June: U.S. real estate ETFsaccumulated $1.44 billion in net inflows in June, generating a total of $4.93 billionin net inflows year-to-date.

Real Estate Rundown:Speculation swirls after DDR CEO's abrupt termination: With the companytight-lipped, analysts and investors have been left to speculate why David Oakeswas fired, and some think a company sale may now be more likely.

Real Estate Rundown:2 internal candidates in the lead for top HCP spot, analysts say: Thecompany is likely to hire an internal candidate to replace Lauralee Martin, andCFO Tom Herzog and Chief Investment Officer J. Justin Hutchens are viewed to beamong the leaders, analysts say.

Recurring reports

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