S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of real estate news stories published throughout the week.
Hospitals and other healthcare providers offer another silver lining to mall landlords who are facing rising vacancies in their properties, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Many malls have lost anchor tenants in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving behind a trail of huge, empty retail spaces. This has prompted property owners to transform those spaces into offices, residential units and warehouses to attract customers.
Mall locations offer cheap real estate, accessibility to highways and nearby customers, and ample parking, according to the publication.
In Rochester, N.Y., the University of Rochester Medical Center will spend $227 million to transform a shuttered Sears department store, along with an adjacent wing of the mall, into an orthopedic healthcare campus, the publication said. Meanwhile, in Alexandria, Va., Inova Health System is planning a $1 billion healthcare campus at the Landmark Mall site.
Transaction stories
* The stockholders of CyrusOne Inc., which represents 78.41% of the company's outstanding common stock, approved the acquisition of the data center real estate investment trust by funds managed by KKR & Co. Inc. and Global Infrastructure Partners LP. The REIT is being bought for $90.50 per share in a cash transaction valued at roughly $15 billion, including debt.
* Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC offered to buy LXP Industrial Trust for $16 per share in cash. The nonbinding offer represents a premium to LXP's most recent closing price of $14.41 and a 22% premium to the $13.12 unaffected price prior to LXP announcing the offerer's engagement with the REIT's board of trustees, Land & Buildings said in its letter to the REIT dated Jan. 28.
Property moves
* IStar Inc. is selling a portfolio of owned and managed net lease assets across the U.S. to an affiliate of The Carlyle Group Inc.'s global credit arm for $3.07 billion. The assets span 18.3 million square feet of institutional quality office, entertainment and industrial space.
* Equus Capital Partners Ltd. paid nearly $1 billion for Prologis Inc.'s 75-property portfolio, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported Feb. 1, citing people familiar with the transaction. The portfolio comprises 5.4 million square feet of industrial space across several key markets.
* Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. acquired a 26-story tower in Nashville, Tenn., from Endeavor Real Estate Group Ltd. for $295 million, Nashville Post reported Jan. 28, citing unnamed industry sources. The property at 1200 Broadway consists of 313 apartments, 66,000 square feet of office space and 46,000 square feet of retail space anchored by Whole Foods Market Inc.
* Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. acquired the fee simple interest in the 319-room Hotel Van Zandt in Austin, Texas, for about $246 million, including its $4 million furniture, fixtures and equipment reserve. Host Hotels also sold the 1,220-room Sheraton Boston hotel for about $233 million and will provide the buyer with a $163 million bridge loan.
Green bond issuance by US REITs grew in 2021
Average short interest in US REITs grows 20 bps since year-end