Top Stories

FRAMINGHAM, MASS. AND BOCA RATON, FLA. — Staples Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) will acquire Office Depot Inc. (Nasdaq: ODP) for $6.3 billion. The deal comes a little more than a year after Office Depot Inc. and OfficeMax Inc. merged in 2013. Staples will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Office Depot. Under the terms of the agreement, Office Depot shareholders will receive, for each Office Depot share, $7.25 in cash and 0.2188 of a share in Staples stock at closing. Each company’s board of directors unanimously approved the agreement. Based on Staples closing share price on Feb. 2, the transaction values Office Depot at $11.00 per share. This represents a premium of 44 percent over the closing price of Office Depot shares as of Feb. 2, and a premium of 65 percent over the 90-day average closing price of Office Depot shares as of Feb. 2. “This is a transformational acquisition which enables Staples to provide more value to customers, and more effectively compete in a rapidly evolving competitive environment,” says Ron Sargent, Staples’ chairman and CEO. “We expect to recognize at least $1 billion of synergies as we aggressively reduce global expenses and optimize our retail footprint. These savings …

MINNEAPOLIS — NorthMarq Capital has signed a purchase agreement to acquire 60 percent of AmeriSphere Multifamily Finance, a Fannie Mae DUS and FHA MAP lender, from founding partner Rodrigo Lopez and the investment firm McCarthy Capital. NorthMarq Capital previously owned a 40 percent stake in AmeriSphere, but will now operate it as a wholly-owned subsidiary. The acquisition is expected to close in 30 to 60 days pending agency and regulatory approvals. AmeriSphere will be then known as NorthMarq. Terms of the acquisition will not be disclosed. NorthMarq will continue to operate as an originator of multifamily loans for Fannie Mae under its DUS program and for FHA, including all underwriting, closing and asset management functions. No employee reductions or changes are anticipated except at the CEO/president level. The acquisition will allow for enhanced integration of operational support with NorthMarq and its platform of 35 production offices across the country. “Since we already had a strong partnership with AmeriSphere, this opportunity can only strengthen our platform and make our production experts more valuable to borrowers looking for multifamily acquisition financing or refinancing,” says Eduardo Padilla, CEO of NorthMarq Capital. Lopez will remain with the firm following acquisition as executive chairman. Jay …

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF. — Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: BEE), a hotel owner and management REIT based in Chicago, has purchased a luxury resort in Laguna Beach for $360 million. Strategic Hotels purchased Montage Laguna Beach from an affiliate of Ohana Real Estate Investors LLC (OREI), a hotel and resort investment and development firm. “We are thrilled to acquire Montage Laguna Beach, a truly iconic luxury hotel located on one of the best resort settings in the continental United States. The acquisition is consistent with our strategy of expanding our best-in-class portfolio of irreplaceable and world-class luxury hotels located in North America,” says Raymond Gellein, chairman and CEO of Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. “The Southern California market generally, and the coastal Orange County market specifically, have been among the highest-rated markets in the country and are poised to continue their strong growth given the diverse set of demand drivers and no competitive supply in the current pipeline as the result of extremely high barriers to entry.” The 250-key Montage Laguna Beach opened in 2003 and features views of the Pacific Ocean, 16,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, a 20,000-square-foot spa and several on-site dining and beverage options. …

LOS ANGELES — Decron Properties Corp., a private, family-owned and operated real estate company based in Los Angeles, has sold a three-property portfolio comprised of neighborhood shopping centers located in Southern California markets. The gross sales price was $108.5 million. The portfolio consisted of grocery- and drugstore-anchored assets totaling 370,453 square feet. Properties included Mission Foothill Plaza located at 28721-28841 Los Alisos Blvd. in Mission Viejo; Park Oaks, located at 1640-1970 N. Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks; and Ontario Plaza, located at 920-1070 N. Mountain Ave. in Ontario. Bill Bauman, executive vice president, and Kyle Miller, corporate managing director, of Savills Studley represented the seller in the transaction. Retail Opportunity Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: ROIC), a shopping center REIT, was the buyer. Initially, Mission Foothill Plaza was the only asset being marketed by the Studley Savills team. After the property was awarded to ROIC in a competitive bidding process, the buyer put in an offer on the additional two properties. “The terms were very compelling, with short due-diligence timeframes and significant non-refundable deposits,” says Miller. “Ultimately the seller was able to leverage market dynamics and a shortage of quality product to realize an excellent return on investment and achieve a strategic …

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) plans to build a 900,000-square-foot distribution center in Spartanburg, S.C. The $90 million project will be Rite Aid’s first new distribution facility in 15 years. “Spartanburg is an ideal location for our new distribution center,” says John Standley, Rite Aid chairman and CEO. “We thank the state of South Carolina for its cooperation and support during our site selection process and we look forward to breaking ground on our new facility, which will help us to further optimize our supply chain and better serve our stores and customers across the Southeast.” Rite Aid is working with Johnson Development Associates, a leading real estate development firm based in Spartanburg, on build the project. Construction will begin in March and Rite Aid will start shipping to stores in March 2016. The new distribution center will employ nearly 600 people after it becomes fully operational and will support the inventory and fulfillment needs of approximately 1,000 Rite Aid stores in the southeastern United States. In April 2014, after a comprehensive review of its supply chain and logistics network, Rite Aid announced it would consolidate three of its existing distribution centers, located in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Charlotte, …

SAN FRANCISCO — LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO) has purchased The Westin Market Street hotel in San Francisco for $350 million. At closing, LaSalle renamed the hotel Park Central San Francisco. LaSalle funded the purchase with cash on hand and borrowings from its senior unsecured credit facility. “We are thrilled to have acquired this prominent hotel with such a fantastic location,” says Michael Barnello, president and CEO of LaSalle. “The San Francisco lodging market remains very strong, with demand at peak levels and limited supply growth on the horizon, and we are excited about increasing our presence in San Francisco for the second time within 10 months — marking our seventh hotel in the city. Approximately 17 percent of our EBITDA is now generated in San Francisco.” Highgate Hotels will continue to manage the property as an independent hotel on behalf of LaSalle. The 681-room Park Central San Francisco is located in the SoMa District, which includes the Moscone Convention Center, the Yerba Buena Gardens, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, AT&T Park and headquarters for companies such as Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. The hotel is also located three blocks from Union Square, an iconic plaza and upscale shopping …