Status Report: GMH Communities - American Campus Communities

REIT deals have reached a state of virtual equilibrium as far as we are concerned, as their timing can be predicted quite accurately using timeline charts as the primary reference.

These deals consistently close in a four-month time frame, give or take a few weeks depending, for the most part, on the SEC review. In the vast majority of cases, the proxy review is waived or cleared in less than 60 days, resulting in the 120-day average for all deals in the database.

In the case of GMH Communities (GCT) - American Campus Communities (ACC), GCT encountered some issues during 2006, when its annual report and three quarterly reports were filed late due to the following:

These delays are due primarily to the fact that management required additional time to complete its review of the performance of applicable internal control processes and procedures associated with the preparation of its quarterly financial statements.

The issues appear to have been corrected last year, as no late filings or amendments were necessary with the companies annual or quarterly reports. However, the 2006 problems definitely raise the possibility that a merger proxy review waiver may be difficult to obtain. Therefore, there is a greater likelihood that the SEC review will have a duration of 45 to 60 days, which would translate into a deal length at or slightly beyond the 120-day standard.

The current closing expectation, barring unusual developments, is approximately mid-June 2008.

Disclosure: We have no positions of any kind, in any security. We are a completely neutral source of research and analysis.