Vornado Outbids Blackstone (Again) in Fight For Equity Office Properties

The continuing bidding war over REIT Equity Office Properties Trust, has led another REIT, Vornado Realty Trust, to raise its bid to $41 billion in cash and stock, topping the $38.3 billion Blackstone Group LP already has on the table. The deal is set to be the largest real estate takeover ever. Vornado's offer equals $56 a share, compared with Blackstone's all-cash bid of $54. Blackstone claims its offer is better because Vornado's offer includes stock which hasn't been properly discounted for. Equity Office's directors already accepted Blackstone's offer on Jan. 25; shareholders are set to vote on Monday. Equity Office Properties Trust owns the largest collection of office properties in the U.S., with a combined 103 million square feet in 543 buildings.

Sources: N.Y. Times/Dealbook, Bloomberg, N.Y. Times
Commentary: Equity Office Properties: Sam Zell's Genius, ISS Advises Equity Office Shareholders to Accept Blackstone's Bid, Blackstone Back at the Table; Raises Equity Office Bid to $38.3 Billion, Vornado Group Outflanks Blackstone in New Bid for Equity Office REIT
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Equity Office Properties Trust (EOP), Vornado Realty Trust (VNO). Competitors: Boston Properties Inc. (BXP), Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (CLI). ETFs: iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors (ICF), Vanguard REIT Index ETF (VNQ), WisdomTree Dividend Top 100 (DTN), streetTRACKS DJ Wilshire REIT (RWR)

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