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Cleveland-based Forest City Ratner announced today that it plans to convert to a REIT structure starting in January 2016. EVP and CFO Robert O'Brien says the move allows Forest City to maintain a tax-efficient structure to drive shareholder value. The restructuring comes as the company begins to unload assets in several other markets and put increasing emphasis on acquiring, managing and selling assets in the New York, LA and DC markets. Among Forest City’s highest-profile holdings is the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, where it controls a 55% stake, which the company announced an intention to sell back in October. No word on whether the Nets will start playing like a real basketball team if and when the ownership stake changes hands.
