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After "leaving the nest" in '14, NorthStar Realty Finance has hired UBS Group AG to advise on a potential recombination with its parent company, NorthStar Asset Management Group.
The REIT’s shares spiked 18% after the news broke, a welcome boost after they tumbled 37% this year and earned NorthStar Realty the second-worst performance in an index of 41 mortgage REITs, Bloomberg reports.
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Activist investor Jonathan Litt of Land & Buildings Investment Management has been putting pressure on the REIT to sell assets and adopt an internally managed structure.
Since the REIT is externally managed, he says, NorthStar Asset Management gets a flat fee regardless of its performance. Litt adds that he is encouraged by the REIT’s recent moves, saying the management company is “substantially undervalued.” [Bloomberg]
