Kushner Cos denies dropping Veris buyout interest (updated)
19/01/2023 16:40
(Adds background, statement from Veris)
Jan 19 (Reuters) - Kushner Companies on Thursday denied
informing Veris Residential Inc VRE.N it was not interested in
pursuing an acquisition of the multifamily rental property
developer.
Real estate investment trust (REIT) Veris said on Wednesday
Kushner Cos had ended talks to acquire it, after months of
chasing the company with sweetened buyout offers.
"At no time did Kushner 'inform Veris that it was not
interested in proceeding at this time'," said Kushner Cos, which
is run by Charles Kushner, the father of former President Donald
Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Veris on Wednesday had said it had spoken with Kushner Cos
in recent weeks and a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) was meant
to be signed, but the latter backed out.
An NDA is a document exchanged between a prospective buyer
and a seller in the early stages of an M&A transaction.
Veris on Thursday reiterated its position that it "remained
open to Kushner Cos' execution of the NDA, to which both parties
previously agreed."
Kushner Cos' on Thursday said it had "worked diligently"
with Veris to finalize an agreement that would give it access to
non-public information.
Last week, Veris shareholder Ronald Dickerman said he had
met with the company's board, adding he expects to have further
discussions with Veris about its "approach to acquisition
interest from prospective third parties."
Kushner Cos, which met with Veris the day after Dickerman
held talks, said it was disappointed it was not informed about
the discussions and only came to learn about them through an SEC
filing.
"Since learning of (the) SEC filing, we have been evaluating
the implications of this development," Kushner Cos said, without
elaborating.
Kushner's pursuit of Veris, formerly called Mack-Cali Realty
Corp, coincides with the real estate sector struggling with
rising costs and a drop in demand due to higher home prices and
mortgage rates.
Kushner Cos was not immediately available for further
comment on Thursday.
(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna
Chandra Eluri)
((Nathan.Gomes@thomsonreuters.com;))