BOSTON, Nov. 20, 2006 — Equity Office Properties Trust has announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Blackstone Real Estate Partners, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, in a transaction valued at approximately $38.3 billion.
According to The Wall Street Journal (Nov. 20, 2006), "If completed, the deal to take Equity Office Properties private would be the largest such transaction in history — and possibly the largest real-estate deal ever — after factoring in the company's $16 billion in debt."
Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Equity Office for $54.00 per share in cash. The purchase price per share represents a 27.8 percent premium over the average closing price of Equity Office's shares for the 30 trading-day period prior to Nov. 19, 2006. Completion of the transaction, which is currently expected to occur in the first quarter of 2007, is contingent upon customary closing conditions and the approval of Equity Office's shareholders, who will be asked to vote on the proposed transaction at a special meeting that will be held on a date to be announced.
Goodwin Procter attorneys Gil Menna, Neal Sandford and Suzanne Filippi represented Merrill Lynch in the transaction, which acted as exclusive financial advisor to Equity Office.