This case is reserved for use by Columbia Business School Faculty only.
In a bidding war for the largest US publicly held office REIT, what strategies and financial analyses drove the two rival potential acquirers as well as their target?
In a bidding war for the largest US publicly held office REIT, what strategies and financial analyses drove the two rival potential acquirers as well as their target?
In 2007, Vornado Realty Trust and The Blackstone Group entered a bidding war for the country's largest publicly held office Real Estate Investment Trust, Equity Office Properties Trust. With an office portfolio of 774 buildings located in some of the country's biggest cities, EOP had attracted Vornado and Blackstone for different reasons. Vornado, always a stock-based buyer, held assets for income and long-term appreciation, while Blackstone, always an all-cash buyer, aimed to time the sale of its holdings to create the best returns for its investors. In this case students form teams to analyze the M&A strategies and create a business memo and PowerPoint presentation from the perspective of one of the three parties involved in the bidding war.
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