It won't knock the Primaris takeover fight from the CRE headlines, but Huntingdon Capital has offered $7 a share for 45% of KEYreit, in a bid valuing the small-box restaurant specialist at more than $100M.
Part of the John Bitove (pictured) business empire, KEY was known as Scott's REIT until last summer. It has 227 properties in nine provinces and was once known largely as a KFC landlord. (Talk about a gig with some benefits.) KEY won't talk with reporters until it has formed a committee to evaluate the bid, though it's advising shareholders to hold off on decisions. Huntingdon already controls 5% of KEY, and offered a 13.3% premium over the last pre-bid TSX price. KEYreit traded near $6.65 this morning and most analysts' target prices are slightly above $6. One analyst expects the properties to end up within FAM REIT, spun-off by Huntingdon recently.
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