Shareholders of Equity Office Properties (EOP) have been advised to accept the enhanced buy-out offer made by private equity group Blackstone for EOP.
Shareholders of Equity Office Properties (EOP) have been advised to accept the enhanced buy-out offer made by private equity group Blackstone for EOP.
The recommendation by Institutional Shareholder Services, a firm that advises on proxy votes, comes a week before EOP shareholders are due to vote on the takeover offer.
Blackstone is offering $54 per share for EOP, a real estate investment trust (REIT) established by Chicago-based property tycoon Sam Zell. Along with debt assumption, the bid for the largest office landlord in the US comes to $38 bn. Last November, Zell backed Blackstone's initial offer of $48.50 a share but another private equity group, Vornado, came forward to lead a rival bid of $52 per share in cash and Vornado stock.
Regardless of the bid that eventually wins out, the EOP takeover is likely to be the largest transaction in the history of global real estate sesctor.
Zell talks about the takeover of EOP and gives his assessment of the European commercial property sector in an interview in the March edition of PropertyEU Magazine. Click on the link below to subscribe to the magazine.
