Kushner Cos. Offers $4.3B To Buy REIT Formerly Known As Mack-Cali

11 De Hart St., a New Jersey multifamily property in the care of Veris Residential.
11 Dehart St., A New Jersey Multifamily Property In The Care Of Veris Residential.

The real estate firm run by Jared Kushner's father is looking to take over one of its top competitors, offering an unsolicited bid for Veris Residential to the tune of $4.3B.

Charles Kushner, the CEO and chairman of Kushner Cos., sent a letter Thursday to the Veris Board of Directors offering $16 a share, which would place the company’s value at roughly $4.3B, including debt. Veris confirmed Friday morning it received the offer and is evaluating it.

Veris changed its name from Mack-Cali Realty Corp. in December, signifying the real estate investment trust's pivot from owning offices in New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic to a pure-play multifamily owner.

The Kushner offer was approximately 28.8% higher than Veris' $12.42 price when markets closed on Thursday, Marketplace reported, adding that the REIT’s stock price soared by 19.6% in premarket trading on Friday. The Wall Street Journal first reported the offer.

Veris’ market capitalization is around $1.4B. The company’s stock price reached a record-low $10.37 on Oct. 7 and had fallen by 32.4% year-to-date at the time of the bid.

The bid represents a discount of around 20% to Veris’ net asset value, according to Green Street, Bloomberg reported. The offer could reportedly result in the start of a more formal sales process for the company, according to Green Street

The deal would add roughly 7,700 apartments to Kushner's 21,000-unit portfolio, according to the WSJ. The takeover bid follows an offer from the developer to manage Veris’ portfolio, which the REIT didn’t respond to, the WSJ reported. Kushner already owns 5% of Veris' shares.

“As a major shareholder with unique experience in Veris' core markets we have tried to engage directly and privately with Veris’ Board and management,” Kushner wrote in the letter. “Unfortunately, to date, our attempts at fruitful good faith engagement have not been reciprocated.”

The developer believes it could cut costs and improve management at Veris, either as a company it owns or by managing the REIT’s properties, Kushner wrote. Kushner said that Veris’ general and administrative costs are 10 times higher per unit than its peer companies and that the REIT’s management team lacks recent multifamily experience.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's National Newsletters
Related Stories

Alliance Building Houston-Area Complex Amid Declining Multifamily Construction

PMC Proposes 31-Story Apartment Building In Center City West

Wells Fargo Moves To Foreclose On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Portfolio

Jemals Sell Georgetown Building To Developer Planning Conversion

Turner Construction Hit With Cyberattack, Hackers Claim Leaks Of Military Info, NDAs

Latest Round Of Fannie Mae Senior Staff Layoffs Has Multifamily Sector Anxious

Why Hines Is Restarting Its Development Engine

How Integrated Infrastructure Can Help AI Data Centers Deploy Faster, Build Smarter

Nvidia Buys Stake In Data Center Power Company

Invesco Cuts Fees, Adds Incentives To Quell Fund Redemption Requests

Investors Anchor Big Capital Into Marinas, Betting On Shallow Supply

Developers Line Up To Convert Boston Offices To Housing, But Most Still Stuck At Starting Gate