Annaly Capital Management, a New Yorkbased mortgage debt real estate investment trust, agreed this week to purchase the portion of Crexus Investment Corporation that it doesn’t already own for $872 million.
Privately held Annaly currently owns 12.4 percent of Crexus, a separate REIT it launch in 2009 with a
$230 million initial public offering and an eye toward investing in commercial real estate debt.
Kardis is now part of a K&L Gates team advising Annaly on its proposed purchase of Crexus,
which has a 45-day go-shop period to seek a better offer. Other K&L Gates lawyers working on the matter include corporate partner David Bernstein, tax of counsel Thomas Lyden, and associates Meredith Laitner and Lani Medina.
A special committee of Crexus’s board of directors retained Goodwin Procter last November to
evaluate a takeover offer by Annaly.
Bloomberg reports that Annaly’s proposed purchase of the company it founded is part of the REIT’s effort to expand and diversify its business after a decrease in yields on government-backed residential debt.
Gilbert Menna, cochair of Goodwin’s REITs and real estate capital markets group, is leading a team from the firm representing Crexus that also includes his fellow REIT cochair, Andrew Sucoff, corporate partner John Haggerty, tax partner H. Neal Sandford, and real estate partner Yoel Kranz.
Goodwin was one of four Am Law 100 firms with roles on that transaction, and last month three other Am Law 100 firms were on hand for the $1.05 billion purchase of LNR Property by Starwood Property Trust, a REIT owned by real estate mogul Barry Sternlicht.
CBS Corporation also announced last month that it would spin off its $1.8 billion Asian and European billboard business and convert its U.S. unit into a REIT.
January also saw the highest price paid for a U.S. office tower since 2010, as Greenberg Traurig and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom landed roles on Sony’s $1.1 billion sale of its Manhattan headquarters, according to our previous reports.