WASHINGTON, D.C. — CoStar Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire LoopNet for approximately $860 million. The transaction between the two companies is expected to close by the end of 2011. As part of the agreement, LoopNet shareholders will receive $16.50 in cash and approximately 0.04 shares of CoStar Group common stock for each share of LoopNet common stock. This equates to a total equity value of approximately $860 million and an enterprise value of $762 million. Upon closing, LoopNet shareholders will own approximately 8.5 percent of CoStar shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis. In addition, CoStar has received a commitment from J.P. Morgan for a $415 million loan and a $50 million revolving credit facility, which will be used to fund the acquisition and for general operating purposes. “CoStar revolutionized how the industry researches commercial real estate and LoopNet revolutionized the way the industry markets commercial real estate,” said Andrew Florence, president and CEO of CoStar, in a statement. “We expect the combination of our companies to give the $11 trillion commercial real estate market the full benefit of the Internet.” With the merger, CoStar's subscriber base stands to grow from 88,000 subscribers to at least 160,000 …
MARION, OHIO — Rural King has acquired 72,507 square feet of space on 10.9 acres at 233 America Blvd. in Marion. The Illinois-based farm-and-home store has 50 locations across the Midwest. Rural King offers products such as livestock feed, farm equipment, agricultural parts, lawn mowers, workwear, fashion clothing, housewares and toys. Bobby Benjamin of Goodman Real Estate Services Group represented Rural King in the transaction. Additional terms of the sale were not disclosed.
WOODSTOCK, GA. — The NorSouth Companies has broken ground for the development of Hearthside at Towne Lake, an affordable senior living community in Woodstock. The $15.3 million community, which is restricted to residents age 62 and older, will offer 100 apartment units, private gardens, a residents' lounge and media room, a fitness center, a sunroom and a bocce ball court. Additionally, the one- and two-bedroom units will feature kitchens with pantries, ENERGY STAR appliances, microwaves, washer/dryer hookups and walk-in closets. The senior living community will serve as the centerpiece for Madison Pointe at Towne Lake, a mixed-use development in Woodstock.
ASHBURN, VA. — Walker & Dunlop has provided a $70.2 million loan, which is insured under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 220 program. The loan is for the Residences at Loudoun Station, a residential and commercial property located at the proposed Loudoun Station in Ashburn. The project will include 357 residential units and 61,575 square feet of commercial space in three buildings. Construction is under way and completion is scheduled for July 2012. The loan was structured with a 90 percent loan-to-cost and will convert into a 40-year fully amortizing mortgage after construction is complete. The borrower is Comstock Partners LLC. The loan was sourced by Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman.
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK CITY — It is shaping up to be a blockbuster day for REIT deals. Chicago-based Ventas will become the largest healthcare REIT in the nation with its $7.4 billion acquisition of Nationwide Health Properties (NHP). In addition, reports are surfacing that private equity firm Blackstone is purchasing the American assets of Australian retail REIT Centro Properties Group for $9.4 billion. Under the terms of its agreement with NHP, Ventas will acquire all of NHP's outstanding shares in a stock-for-stock transaction. NHP shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.7866 Ventas shares for each share of NHP common stock. Based on Friday's closing price, this would give NHP shareholders a 15 percent premium over NHP's closing stock price that day. Upon closing of the deal, which is expected to occur in the third quarter, Ventas shareholders will own approximately 65 percent of the combined company, and NHP shareholders will own the remaining 35 percent. The deal would make Ventas the largest healthcare REIT in the nation, with a pro forma equity value of approximately $17 billion and a pro forma enterprise value of approximately $23 billion. The company would control 1,300 assets in 47 states and …
VENTURA, CALIF. — Solarsilicon Recycling Services LLC has acquired a 90,000-square-foot industrial building, located at 2433 Eastman Ave. in Ventura, from Art Dreams for $6.3 million. A company that recycles unusable and off-spec silicon and processes it into usable feedstock for the solar industry, SRS was represented by Mike Tingus of Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura. Represented by DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services’ Michael Walsh and Melinda Walsh, the seller will lease back a portion of the building. The freestanding building includes more than 13,000 square feet of office space on two stories and features 24’ clear height, three dock-high and two ground-level doors.
The U.S. apartment sector staged a strong recovery in 2010 well ahead of expectations, despite modest job creation and stubbornly high unemployment. Net absorption surged, with occupied stock rising by nearly 200,000 units, double the number of apartments constructed and the highest level on record since 2000. Several factors contributed to high levels of absorption, including the release of pent-up renter demand as households de-bundled in the wake of the recession. In addition, apartments benefited from private-sector job growth in the critical 20- to 34-year-old cohort, expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, displaced foreclosed homeowners entering the renter pool, immigration and lower unit turnover. Renting also became a lifestyle and economic choice for many households as the effects of the housing collapse and recession persisted. Continued recovery in 2011 depends more heavily on improvements in the job market, which should gain momentum as the year progresses. Building on that momentum, operating conditions in the suburban Chicago apartment market will strengthen considerably this year, building on improvements in vacancy and rents recorded in 2010. Apartment construction will sink to one of the lowest levels in the past decade, minimizing competition for tenants at a time when renewed job growth will accelerate …
SAN FRANCISCO AND DENVER — First reported last week as the two parties entered discussions, industrial REITs ProLogis and AMB Property Corp. have reached a definitive agreement to merge, creating one of the world's largest industrial real estate owners. The new company is expected to have a pro forma equity market capitalization of approximately $14 billion, a total market capitalization in excess of $24 billion and gross assets owned of approximately $46 billion. The combined company is anticipated to save $80 million in G&A costs. Under terms of the agreement, each ProLogis common share will be converted into 0.4464 units of a newly issued AMB common share, and the combined company will operate as an UPREIT. Upon completion of the merger, anticipated in second quarter 2011, the company will operate under the name ProLogis and will trade under the ticker symbol “PLD” on the New York Stock Exchange. “We have the opportunity to build a pre-eminent industrial real estate company on a global scale,” said AMB Chairman and CEO Hamid Moghadam in a video on the company’s web site about the merger. “We can service our customers better, provide better products for our investors, and create a great deal of …
DENVER AND SAN FRANCISCO — Two of the largest owners of industrial properties in the United States have entered into discussions regarding a potential merger. In joint press releases, Denver-based ProLogis and San Francisco-based AMB Property Corp. explained the deal would consist of a merger of equals, in which both company's stock would be combined in an all-stock, at-market transaction based on the unaffected trading price of both stocks prior to media reports of the possible merger. Neither company would comment further on the talks. Following the news on Thursday, shares of AMB Property Corp. (NYSE: AMB)(http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AAMB) rose to $36.01 per share, coming within pennies of its 52-week high), but ended the day at $34.01. Shares of ProLogis (NYSE:PLD)(http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3Apld) also rose, ending the day at $15.87. If completed, the merger would create a titan in the industrial sector. ProLogis currently controls a portfolio of more than 435 million square feet of industrial space located across North America, Europe and Asia. AMB controls 158.4 million square feet of industrial space in 49 markets within 15 countries. — Coleman Wood
NEW YORK CITY — Bethesda, Md.-based multifamily lender Walker & Dunlop is getting a jump on what it sees as the imminent turnaround of the commercial real estate industry by completing its plan to go public. The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange December 15 under the ticker symbol “WD”. Walker & Dunlop priced 10 million shares of common stock at a price of $10 per share. For the lender, going public provides it with the high brand recognition its publicly traded competitors already have. As of last year, Walker & Dunlop was the ninth largest commercial real estate lender in the country and the 5th largest originator of Fannie Mae loans. It also provides the company with greater access to capital than it had as a private company. There are other benefits as well. “[Going public] opens up a whole new realm of opportunities for partnerships and growth, and attracting talented individuals to our platform,” says William Walker, chairman, president and CEO of Walker & Dunlop. The company will need the clout to help it achieve its long-term goals. Walker sees the next few years will see a much increased demand for commercial real estate loans …