Kushner Cos. Offers $4.3B To Buy REIT Formerly Known As Mack-Cali
The real estate firm run by Jared Kushner's father is looking to take over one of its top competitors, offering an unsolicited bid for Veris Residential to the tune of $4.3B.
Charles Kushner, the CEO and chairman of Kushner Cos., sent a letter Thursday to the Veris Board of Directors offering $16 a share, which would place the company’s value at roughly $4.3B, including debt. Veris confirmed Friday morning it received the offer and is evaluating it.
Veris changed its name from Mack-Cali Realty Corp. in December, signifying the real estate investment trust's pivot from owning offices in New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic to a pure-play multifamily owner.
The Kushner offer was approximately 28.8% higher than Veris' $12.42 price when markets closed on Thursday, Marketplace reported, adding that the REIT’s stock price soared by 19.6% in premarket trading on Friday. The Wall Street Journal first reported the offer.
Veris’ market capitalization is around $1.4B. The company’s stock price reached a record-low $10.37 on Oct. 7 and had fallen by 32.4% year-to-date at the time of the bid.
The bid represents a discount of around 20% to Veris’ net asset value, according to Green Street, Bloomberg reported. The offer could reportedly result in the start of a more formal sales process for the company, according to Green Street
The deal would add roughly 7,700 apartments to Kushner's 21,000-unit portfolio, according to the WSJ. The takeover bid follows an offer from the developer to manage Veris’ portfolio, which the REIT didn’t respond to, the WSJ reported. Kushner already owns 5% of Veris' shares.
“As a major shareholder with unique experience in Veris' core markets we have tried to engage directly and privately with Veris’ Board and management,” Kushner wrote in the letter. “Unfortunately, to date, our attempts at fruitful good faith engagement have not been reciprocated.”
The developer believes it could cut costs and improve management at Veris, either as a company it owns or by managing the REIT’s properties, Kushner wrote. Kushner said that Veris’ general and administrative costs are 10 times higher per unit than its peer companies and that the REIT’s management team lacks recent multifamily experience.
