H&R bids for Primaris

Article Excerpt

PRIMARIS RETAIL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $27.02 (Toronto symbol PMZ.UN; Units outstanding: 97.8 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.7%; www.primarisreit.com) has received a friendly $28-a-share takeover bid. The offer is from H&R REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $23.73 (Toronto symbol HR.UN; Units outstanding: 194.2 million; Market cap: $4.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.7%; www.hr-reit.com). The H&R bids tops the $26-a-share in-cash hostile takeover bid from a consortium led by Canadian private equity firm Kingsett Capital. This group includes RioCan REIT $26.67. Under H&R’s offer, Primaris unitholders can choose to receive 1.13 units of H&R or $28.00 cash per unit, subject to a maximum cash amount of $700 million. Primaris units are trading just above the offer price, based on the current trading price of H&R’s units, but below the offer if the cash portion is factored in. So it’s unlikely that another bid will emerge. We see Primaris as a hold for…