Andrew Farkas C-III Capital Partners

C-III Capital Partners Agrees to Acquire Resource America for $207M

by John Nelson

IRVING, TEXAS AND PHILADELPHIA — C-III Capital Partners LLC, a commercial real estate investment manager and property services firm, has agreed to purchase Resource America Inc. (NASDAQ: REXI), an asset management company that specializes in commercial real estate and credit investments. Under the terms of the agreement, Resource America stockholders will receive $9.78 per share in cash, for a total of approximately $207 million.

Resource America’s board of directors unanimously approved the agreement. The price per share represents a 51 percent premium over Resource America’s closing price on May 20.

“Having undertaken a thorough strategic review, during which we evaluated a wide variety of options, the board has unanimously concluded that partnering with C-III is the best way to maximize value,” says Jonathan Cohen, president and CEO of Resource America. “C-III is a highly regarded real estate services and investment management organization with outstanding leadership.”

Philadelphia-based Resource America is the external manager of one publicly traded REIT, four non-traded REITS and two other registered investment companies and focuses on capital-raising activities through the independent broker-dealer network.

Irving-based C-III Capital Partners currently manages $3.8 billion on behalf of institutional investors in both debt and equity funds, a separate account and several structured product vehicles. Its mortgage origination business has originated over $4.5 billion of commercial real estate loans since 2010. C-III Capital Partners is also one of the largest special and primary loan servicers in the United States, responsible for over 100 CMBS trusts comprising more than $100 billion of commercial real estate loans.

The combined company will manage over $25 billion of gross assets and own and/or manage approximately 60,000 apartment units across the U.S.

“The addition of Resource America’s businesses further diversifies our platform and enables us to become an even broader and more robust full-service provider of commercial real estate debt and equity solutions,” says Andrew Farkas, chairman and CEO of C-III Capital Partners.

C-III plans to retain the leadership and staff of Resource America’s asset management businesses. The transaction, which is expected to close late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter, is subject to approval by Resource America stockholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The acquisition is not subject to any financing conditions.

Evercore served as exclusive financial advisors to Resource America, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as Resource America’s legal advisors. Proskauer Rose LLP served as C-III’s legal advisors.

Resource America’s stock price closed on Friday, May 20 at $6.46 per share, down from $8.24 per share at this time last year.

— John Nelson

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