Bermuda-based Brookfield Property Partners L.P. increased the cash portion of an offer for Brookfield Office Properties Inc. of New York by $1 a share in late December, after talks with the independent committee vetting the bid. Brookfield Property first offered to buy the office landlord in September with a bid valued at $5 billion. Both companies are units of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc.; the deal would group the parent’s commercial real estate investments under one umbrella.
Brookfield Office shareholders can choose to receive either one limited partnership unit of Brookfield Property or $20.34 in cash. The board of Brookfield Office said on Dec. 20 that it intended to recommend that shareholders accept the revised offer, which has a value of $5.1 billion. Brookfield Property already owns 51 per cent of Brookfield Office. Brookfield Office’s board said an analysis by Morgan Stanley Canada Ltd. found the fair value of its common shares to be $18.50 to $21.
