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Regency Centers (REG) Gets Nod for Equity One Merger Deal
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Retail REIT, Regency Centers Corporation (REG - Free Report) has got the nod from shareholders for its proposed merger with Equity One, Inc. , with the former remaining as the surviving public company of the merger. This merger is likely to close on Mar 1, 2017.
The move would create a national portfolio of 429 properties, mainly grocery-anchored, covering over 57 million square feet, including co-investment partnerships, according to an earlier declaration from the company.
Following the deal completion, on a pro forma basis, Regency’s shareholders are estimated to own around 62% of the combined company’s equity; while the prior Equity One shareholders are projected to enjoy about 38% ownership.
Notably, Regency has considerable experience in the retail real estate industry, with 225 shopping centers’ development since 2000, denoting an investment at completion of over $3.5 billion. The company has a solid portfolio of 307 retail properties.
On the other hand, Equity One’s portfolio aggregated 122 properties, including 98 retail properties and five non-retail properties, and its retail occupancy excluding developments and redevelopments was 95.4% and included national, regional and local tenants as of Sep 30, 2016. Their merger would, therefore, aid in creating a prominent grocery-anchored shopping center REIT with enhanced concentration in higher density, in-fill metro areas.
Also, shares of Regency outperformed the Zacks categorized REIT and Equity Trust – Retail industry over the past three months. During that time frame, the shares of the company gained 6.7%, whereas the industry rose by 2.8%.
Key Picks
Investors interested in the REIT industry may consider stocks like EPR Properties (EPR - Free Report) and Urban Edge Properties (UE - Free Report) . Both the stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
EPR Properties, currently, has long-term growth rate of 8.3%. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Urban Edge Properties’ funds from operations (FFO) per share for 2017 of $1.37 reflects growth of 7.9% from the prior year.
Note: FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income. All EPS numbers presented in this write up represent FFO per share.
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Regency Centers (REG) Gets Nod for Equity One Merger Deal
Retail REIT, Regency Centers Corporation (REG - Free Report) has got the nod from shareholders for its proposed merger with Equity One, Inc. , with the former remaining as the surviving public company of the merger. This merger is likely to close on Mar 1, 2017.
The move would create a national portfolio of 429 properties, mainly grocery-anchored, covering over 57 million square feet, including co-investment partnerships, according to an earlier declaration from the company.
Per the merger agreement, each share of Equity One common stock would be converted into 0.45 of a newly issued share of Regency common stock. (Read more: Regency Centers, Equity One's Ratings Affirmed by Moody's)
Following the deal completion, on a pro forma basis, Regency’s shareholders are estimated to own around 62% of the combined company’s equity; while the prior Equity One shareholders are projected to enjoy about 38% ownership.
Notably, Regency has considerable experience in the retail real estate industry, with 225 shopping centers’ development since 2000, denoting an investment at completion of over $3.5 billion. The company has a solid portfolio of 307 retail properties.
On the other hand, Equity One’s portfolio aggregated 122 properties, including 98 retail properties and five non-retail properties, and its retail occupancy excluding developments and redevelopments was 95.4% and included national, regional and local tenants as of Sep 30, 2016. Their merger would, therefore, aid in creating a prominent grocery-anchored shopping center REIT with enhanced concentration in higher density, in-fill metro areas.
Currently, Regency has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Also, shares of Regency outperformed the Zacks categorized REIT and Equity Trust – Retail industry over the past three months. During that time frame, the shares of the company gained 6.7%, whereas the industry rose by 2.8%.
Key Picks
Investors interested in the REIT industry may consider stocks like EPR Properties (EPR - Free Report) and Urban Edge Properties (UE - Free Report) . Both the stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
EPR Properties, currently, has long-term growth rate of 8.3%. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Urban Edge Properties’ funds from operations (FFO) per share for 2017 of $1.37 reflects growth of 7.9% from the prior year.
Note: FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income. All EPS numbers presented in this write up represent FFO per share.
A Full-Blown Technological Breakthrough in the Making
Zacks’ Aggressive Growth Strategist Brian Bolan explores autonomous cars in our latest Special Report, Driverless Cars: Your Roadmap to Mega-Profits Today. In addition to who will be selling them and how the auto industry will be impacted, Brian reveals 8 stocks with tremendous gain potential to feed off this phenomenon. Click to see the stocks right now >>