HOUSTON — Shareholders of AmREIT Inc., a Houston-based real estate development firm, have approved the sale of AmREIT to South Carolina-based Edens Investment Trust.
AmREIT controls a number of significant retail centers and mixed-use projects including the Uptown Park, a major Houston center that is undergoing a major redevelopment and high-rise densification.
The deal will close between Feb. 18 and Feb 24, AmREIT said. Edens will pay $763 million or 26.55 per share in an all-cash transaction for AmREIT’s shares, which are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
In July, another firm Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers Corp. had offered to pay $22 per share for AmREIT. The Eden transaction represents a premium of 21 percent over Regency’s proposal.
AmREIT’s existing properties are concentrated in five of the top metropolitan markets in the southern U.S.: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Atlanta.
Edens develops, owns and operates 100 centers in primary markets throughout the East Coast. Edens has regional headquarters in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami and Columbia, SC.
Edens is a retail real estate owner and developer with a 48-year track record of enriching communities in which it does business. Edens owns a $4.2 billion portfolio of market-leading urban retail centers.