Kushner Cos pulls out of deal talks to buy Veris
18/01/2023 23:17
Jan 18 (Reuters) - Veris Residential Inc VRE.N said on
Wednesday Kushner Companies had ended talks to acquire the real
estate investment trust, after months of chasing the company
with sweetened buyout offers.
Last month, Kushner proposed to pay Veris $18.50 a share and
$17.50 a share in two separate offers that were not publicly
reported, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters. The bids
were rejected for being too low and lacking financing.
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"Kushner Companies informed us that it was not interested in
proceeding at this time," Veris said in a statement on
Wednesday. Kushner, which approached Veris six times last year,
did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Its first offer, made in October, was for $16 a share and
valued Veris at $4.3 billion including debt.
Kushner Cos has previously said in a public presentation
that the Veris board "repeatedly rebuffed proposals" and that
Veris directors have "presided over a multi-year record of
financial and operational mismanagement."
"We welcomed the opportunity to engage more openly and
provide Kushner Companies with critical information so that it
could better understand Veris Residential's intrinsic value,"
Veris said on Wednesday.
"However, due to Kushner Companies' and its stated financing
partners' unwillingness to move forward, we have been left with
no choice other than to cease further discussions."
(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath)
((Aishwarya.Nair@thomsonreuters.com; +91-9167838937 Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aishwaryartrs
;))