Brookfied to Buyout Longview Fibre for $1.6b

Brookfield Asset Management, a Canadian-based property and infrastructure investor, announced Monday it will acquire the shares of timberlands owner Longview Fibre it doesn't already own for $24.75 a share, which puts a $1.63b value on the company, or $2.15 including debt. The price is an 18% premium on Longview's Friday close price of $21.01, and a "substantial premium" to the share prices before the original March 6 disclosure of an unsolicited offer by a third party to acquire Longview. Brookfield has more than $50 billion of assets under management, and has announced at least seven acquisitions in the past eight months; its $1.35 billion merger agreement with U.S. shopping mall owner Mills Corp., announced Jan. 17, was cast into question today after Mills received an unsolicited $1.56b partnered bid from Simon Property Group Inc. The news saw Longview shares up $3.45 (16.4%) to $24.46, and Brookfield shares up $0.07 (0.1%) to $48.94.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg
Commentary: Bidding War over Mills Corp Heats Up with $1.56B Bid • The Mills Saga Is Not Over • The Next Berkshire Hathaway?
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM), Longview Fibre Co. (LFB), Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG), Mills Corp. (MLS). Competitors: Developers Diversified Realty Corp. (DDR), General Growth Properties Inc. (GGP). ETFs: iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors ETF (ICF), iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate ETF (IYR), streetTRACKS Wilshire REIT Index Fund (RWR), Vanguard REIT VIPERs (VNQ)

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