Proxy Firms Weigh in on Blackstone REIT’s Deal with Preferred Apartment Communities
Glass, Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., two independent proxy advisory firms, have recommended that shareholders of Preferred Apartment Communities vote for the Blackstone REIT transaction.
Glass, Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., two independent proxy advisory firms, have recommended that shareholders of Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. (NYSE: APTS) vote “for” the proposed all-cash acquisition by Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc., a non-traded real estate investment trust.
Preferred Apartment Communities’ special meeting of stockholders is scheduled for June 7, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. EST. All stockholders of record as of the close of business on April 11, 2022 are entitled to vote.
If approved, the $5.8 billion transaction is expected to be completed around June 9, 2022.
As previously reported, Blackstone REIT agreed to buy all of the outstanding shares of Preferred Apartment Communities for $25.00 each, and once the transaction closes, the REIT’s common stock will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Preferred Apartment Communities owns 44 multifamily communities totaling approximately 12,000 units concentrated largely in Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Charlotte and Nashville, and 54 grocery-anchored retail assets comprising approximately 6 million square feet located mostly in Atlanta, Orlando, Nashville and Raleigh.
Blackstone REIT will also purchase the company’s two Sun Belt office properties and 10 mezzanine / preferred equity investments collateralized by under construction and newly-built multifamily assets.
Shares of Preferred Apartment Communities closed at $24.94 on Tuesday.
In other Blackstone REIT news, the company recently completed its acquisition of Resource REIT Inc., a non-traded REIT, in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.7 billion.
Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust’s initial offering launched in August 2016 and has raised $53.9 billion in three public offerings as of March 2022. The currently offering has raised $3.4 billion, and as of April 30, 2022, its aggregate NAV was $66.3 billion. As of April 30, 2022, Blackstone REIT’s portfolio includes $89.8 billion in real estate investments and $9.6 billion in real estate debt.
