Brookfield Office Properties Inc (USA) (BPO), Mpg Office Trust Inc (MPG): A New York Landlord Is Stepping Up the Pace

Last bus for MPG Office

Mpg Office Trust Inc (NYSE:MPG) has been seeking such a deal since last year, but the result was paltry. The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) appeared to be casing the joint last July with its reported purchase of about 1.3 million Mpg Office Trust Inc (NYSE:MPG) common stock. However, The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) as it turned out is more inclined toward buyouts of distressed residential properties, for which its Invitation Homes unit has spent $4.5 billion in the purchase of 25,000 foreclosed single family homes since May last year. An IPO is now reportedly being considered for Invitation Homes.

Some MPG Office shareholders have expressed dissent over Brookfield’s bid as being too low. However, the LA landlord seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place. MPG Office has to have a buyer by this June, per one analysis, as some of the company’s major financial obligations are maturing, and even the recent divestment of some its assets hasn’t eased its precarious position and bankruptcy may be a possibility.

Final take: A mere shift does the trick?

Simplistic as it may sound as a final take, what the dissenting MPG Office shareholders can perhaps do is bite the offer and just shift positions to Brookfield Office. Like most value investors, they’d likely find the company’s current 8 P/E ratio quite attractive. The company’s recent financials indicate smooth sailing as well. In its most recent quarter, Brookfield Office exceeded analysts’ estimates as it posted funds from operations of $189 million or $0.33 per share, an improvement from the FFO of $154 million or $0.27 per share a year earlier.

The article A New York Landlord Is Stepping Up the Pace originally appeared on Fool.com.

Arturo Cuevas has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Arturo is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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