DALLAS AND VANCOUVER — City Office REIT (NYSE: CIO), a Canadian company focused on the acquisition, ownership and operation of office properties in Sun Belt markets in the United States, has entered into a merger agreement valued at $1.1 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, MCME Carell Holdings LP and MCME Carell Holdings LLC — collectively a joint venture between South Florida-based firms Elliott Investment Management LP and Morning Calm Management LLC — will acquire all issued and outstanding shares of City Office REIT common stock for $7 per share in cash. The company’s stock price closed on Tuesday, July 23 at $5.56 per share, roughly the same as a year ago.
City Office REIT’s current portfolio comprises 54 office buildings totaling roughly 5.4 million square feet of net rentable space in the Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, San Diego, Seattle and Tampa markets. The company’s U.S. headquarters is located in Dallas.
Terms of the merger agreement include the sale of City Office’s Phoenix portfolio. Upon close, City Office will become a private company and its shares will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
“After conducting an extensive process to explore potential strategic alternatives, we are pleased to have reached an agreement with MCME Carell,” says James Farrar, CEO of City Office. “In light of a challenging environment for the office sector, this transaction delivers immediate and significant value to our shareholders.”
The transaction, which was unanimously approved by City Office’s board of directors, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Elliott Investment Management is an investment manager based in West Palm Beach, Fla., with approximately $72.7 billion in assets under management.
Morning Calm Management, an investment and management firm based in Boca Raton, Fla., owns roughly 10 million square feet of commercial real estate on behalf of institutional and private capital.
— Hayden Spiess