By Jeffrey St.Onge & Kara Wetzel | Bloomberg
American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (ARCP) agreed to buy Cole Real Estate Investments Inc. for about $6.85 billion as it seeks to become the largest owner of U.S. single-tenant buildings.
American Realty would pay 1.0929 common shares valued at $14.59 for each Cole share or $13.82 in cash, the companies said in a statement today. The offer is 14 percent higher than Cole’s closing price yesterday. The merger has been approved by both companies’ boards, according to the statement.
The deal extends a string of acquisitions by New York-based American Realty, which earlier this year agreed to purchase CapLease Inc. (LSE) and American Realty Capital Trust IV Inc. to expand its holdings of mostly single-tenant retail, office and industrial properties. The real estate investment trust was rebuffed earlier this year in an effort to buy a predecessor company to Phoenix-based Cole.
