Replies to post #94315 on ORIONS Money Stocks

[AugustaFriends]

dare to join me with EEE risky play

[AugustaFriends]

GBE Grubb & Ellis Up on Acquisitions
Miriam Reimer
08/30/10 - 02:04 PM EDT
SANTA ANA, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Shares of Grubb & Ellis(GBE) jumped Monday after the real estate investment trust said it expanded its property portfolio.

Grubb & Ellis Apartment REIT said it agreed to pay $182.4 million to acquire nine apartment buildings from MR Holdings and all of the assets of Mission Residential Management.

Grubb & Ellis shares rose 5.1%.

The nine multifamily properties acquired from MR Holdings include nearly 2,700 apartment units in North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Mission Residential's assets included 41 apartments in Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Florida, including the nine being purchased.

CEO Stanley Olander Jr. said the acquisitions will add value to Grubb & Ellis' shareholders, providing greater economies of scale and an equity increase of 18%, adding that "the transactions will be immediately accretive to our bottom line earnings, increasing funds from operations and coverage of our investor dividend."

Fee income will be derived from the Mission Residential asset purchase, and will allow Grubb & Ellis to manage its own properties.

Grubb & Ellis said it is also looking to pick up six multifamily communities totaling 1,510 apartment units in North Carolina and Texas. That deal would cost $99.5 million, the REIT said.

The REIT's apartment portfolio already consisted of 14 apartment properties, including 3,747 units, valued at $358 million based on purchase price. Once the latest deals are complete it will have a total of 29 multifamily properties with 7,933 units, valued at $661.4 million.

Elsewhere in the apartment REIT space, Mid-America Apartment Communities(MAA) said earlier this month it acquired an upscale apartment community in Raleigh, N.C.

Mid-America Apartment paid $33.6 million for Hue, a recently-built, high-end, mid-rise multifamily and retail development in Raleigh's downtown area. The acquisition added 208 units to Mid-America's portfolio of ownership or ownership interest in more than 45,000 apartments throughout the Sunbelt region of the U.S.