STOCKTON, CALIF. – The Hammer & West Pad building, a 7,294-square-foot retail property in Stockton, has sold to a local private investorfor $3.7 million. The building is located at 7860 West Lane. It was built in 2008. Notable tenants at Hammer & Westinclude Western Dental, AT&T and Pizza Hut. The property is part of a larger retail center that is anchored by Walgreens. Jeff Conover of Faris Lee Investments represented both the buyer and seller, West Hammer Properties, in this transaction. The buyer was also represented by Mirna Gonzales of Green Banker.
SEATTLE AND SAN FRANCISCO – Zillow, an online real estate database headquartered in Seattle, has agreed to buy out its competitor, San Francisco-based Trulia, for $3.5 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. Each company will maintain its individual brand following the merger. Both will continue to provide buyers, sellers, homeowners and renters free access to information about homes and real estate. They will also maintain their advertising and software solutions platforms. Pete Flint, Trulia’s CEO, will maintain his position once the deal closes in 2015. He will report to Spencer Rascoff, Zillow’s CEO. Flint will also join the combined company’s Board of Directors. Both Zillow and Trulia are primarily considered to be media companies, as the majority of their revenue is generated through advertising sales to real estate professionals. Zillow reported a record 83 million unique users across mobile and web this past June, while Trulia reported a record 54 million monthly unique users across its sites and mobile apps during the same time. Though both sites offer consumers relatively comparable products, the two brands have limited overlap. About half of Trulia.com’s monthly visitors do not visit Zillow.com, and about two-thirds of Zillow.com’s monthly visitors across all devices do not use …
NEW YORK — CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), a provider of commercial lending and leasing services, will merge with IMB Holdco LLC, the parent company of OneWest Bank N.A., for $3.4 billion in cash and stock. The merger will increase CIT’s total assets to $67 billion. Following the close of the transaction, CIT Bank, CIT’s banking subsidiary, will merge with OneWest Bank under the CIT Bank name and CIT. Under the terms of the agreement, IMB Holdco LLC shareholders will receive $2 billion in cash and 31.3 million shares of CIT Group Inc. common stock currently valued at $1.4 billion, assuming a CIT stock price of $44.33. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. CIT expects the transaction to be 20 percent accretive to earnings per share in 2016, generating an internal rate of return of 15 percent. John Thain, chairman and CEO of CIT Group, will continue to lead the company. Steven Mnuchin, chairman of IMB Holdco LLC, will join CIT Group Inc. as vice chairman and will also become a member of its board of directors. Alan Frank, an independent director from OneWest Bank …
STOCKBRIDGE, GA. — Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. has assumed the contract to acquire Freeway Junction, a 156,834-square-foot shopping center in Atlanta suburb Stockbridge, for $10.5 million. Wheeler REIT (NASDAQ: WHLR) is assuming the contract from Wheeler Interests LLC, an affiliated company. The shopping center, located along Georgia Highway 138, is 95.5 percent leased to tenants such as Northern Tool + Equipment, Goodwill, Ollie’s, Farmer’s Furniture, Cato Fashion, Citi Trends and Jackson-Hewitt.
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — Stockdale Capital Partners has acquired Sugar Creek I and II, a 409,168-square-foot office complex in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land. The property was 96.1 percent leased at the time of the sale by tenants including Noble Drilling Corp. and United Healthcare. On-site amenities include a fitness center, deli and conference rooms. Rusty Tamblyn and Trent Agnew of HFF represented the sellers, Granite Properties and MetLife. Jeremy Womack of HFF arranged acquisition financing.
CYPRESS, CALIF. — Stockbridge has purchased the Cypress Distribution Center, a 543,431-square-foot industrial project, for $60 million. The Class A center is located at 6550 Katella Ave. and 11130 Holder Street in the Orange County suburb of Cypress. The project contains two buildings that are separately parceled. Notable tenants include Empire Warehousing, ILAD, VF Outdoor, Inc. (Vans) and Integrated Alarm Services. CBRE’s Kevin Shannon, Darla Long and Barbara Emmons represented the seller, Colony Realty Partners, alongside Cushman & Wakefield’s Rick Ellison and Tom Sheets.
NEW YORK CITY — Brixmor, which had been planning to go public since Blackstone Group acquired it in 2011, began trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BRX” as part of an $825 million initial public offering (IPO). Brixmor’s stock price, which began trading at $20 per share, finished the day at $20.57 per share, a 2.85 percent increase. The retail landlord is selling 41.25 million shares, up from 37.5 million shares the company originally plan to offer as part of the IPO. The offering is expected to close on Nov. 4. With more than 520 properties in its portfolio, Brixmor has no immediate plans to expand. Michael Carroll, CEO of New York-based Brixmor, says the company’s investors support Brixmor’s strategy to continue to invest in its existing portfolio.
FORT MILL, S.C. — Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT Inc. has acquired Stockbridge Commons, a 99,473-square-foot shopping center located in Fort Mill, about 18 miles south of Charlotte, N.C., for $15.3 million. Harris Teeter anchors the center, which is 96 percent leased. Harris Teeter is the No.1 grocer by market share in Charlotte, according to Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT Inc. The Stockbridge Commons acquisition, along with the public non-traded REIT's purchase of the Dyer Crossing shopping center in Dyer, Ind., brings the REIT's portfolio to 55 properties in 20 states totaling about $801.5 million.
DALLAS — Stockdale Investment Group has purchased The Shops of Highland Park, a 45,000-square-foot retail property located at 4200 Oak Lawn Ave. in Dallas. The center is home to retailers and restaurants including La Duni, Carbone’s, Flywheel and The Dry Bar. The property also includes an adjacent 50,000-square-foot parking lot. The Shops of Highland Park has undergone two major renovations since its original development in 1940. The seller was Corrigan Properties, the original owner of The Shops for more than 70 years.
CHICAGO — Real estate investment firm Aviv has closed its initial public offering of 13.2 million shares of its common stock at an offering price of $20 per share. Including the overallotment option, Aviv sold 15.1 million shares in the offering and received net proceeds of approximately $278.8 million. The company’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AVIV.” Aviv intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to repay certain indebtedness and for general corporate purposes, including the potential acquisition of additional properties. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as joint book-running managers of the offering, and Citigroup, RBC Capital Markets, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, RBS and CSCA acted as co-managers. Chicago-based Aviv REIT owns 258 post-acute and long-term care skilled nursing facilities and other healthcare properties.