Industrial Logistics Properties to buy Monmouth in $4 bln deal (updated)

Equity Commonwealth

05/11/2021 10:32

(Adds details from press statement, background)
    Nov 5 (Reuters) - REIT Industrial Logistics Properties Trust
 ILPT.O  said on Friday it will buy peer Monmouth Real Estate
Investment Corp  MNR.N  in an all-cash deal valued at about $4
billion, including debt and transaction costs, to beef up its
presence in the United States.
    The acquisition comes at a time when e-commerce has boomed
in the U.S. and warehouses to store goods are in demand, leading
to an uptick in property purchases this year.
    Industrial Logistics will pay $21.00 for each Monmouth
share, a premium of 11.3% to its Thursday close.
    Monmouth operates 126 industrial and logistics properties
and has a presence in 32 states in the United States, and will
add to Industrial Logistics' over 290 properties. 
    Monmouth shareholders in August had rejected the company's
plan to sell itself to Equity Commonwealth  EQC.N , another
REIT.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2Q23TL
    As part of the deal, which is expected to close in the first
half of next year, Industrial Logistics will assume $409 million
of debt.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nBw258p57a
    Separately, investor Blackwells Capital, which had tried to
buy Monmouth last year, dropped its proxy fight against the
company, Monmouth said on Friday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nGNX9Xt76J

 (Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shailesh Kuber)
 ((Abhijith.G@thomsonreuters.com;))