SAN DIEGO, Oct. 8, 2015 — BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: BMR) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII, under which Blackstone will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of BioMed Realty for $23.75 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $8 billion.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by BioMed Realty’s Board of Directors and represents a premium of approximately 24% over the unaffected closing stock price on September 22, 2015, after which a media article was issued reporting a potential transaction involving BioMed Realty.
Commenting on the acquisition, Alan D. Gold, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of BioMed Realty said, “Demand for high-quality, institutional real estate to support the unprecedented growth of the life science industry is at historic levels as demand is outpacing supply in all of our core innovation districts. However, we believe that the public markets are not adequately valuing our assets and proven business model. Entering into this transaction with Blackstone fulfills our Board of Directors’ mission to maximize stockholder value.”
“We are excited to acquire this best-in-class company which owns an exceptional collection of office buildings catering to life science tenants in gateway markets including Boston–Cambridge, San Francisco, San Diegoand Seattle,” said Nadeem Meghji, co-head of US real estate acquisitions for Blackstone. “We believe in the long-term fundamentals of this sector, particularly in locations with top-tier educational and research institutions.”
Completion of the transaction, which is currently expected to occur in the first quarter of 2016, is contingent upon customary closing conditions, including the approval of BioMed Realty’s stockholders, who will vote on the transaction at a special meeting on a date to be announced. The transaction is not contingent on receipt of financing by Blackstone.
In addition to the common stock dividend of $0.26 per share previously declared on September 15, 2015 and payable on October 15, 2015, if the transaction is completed after January 1, 2016 BioMed stockholders will receive a per diem amount of approximately $0.003 per share for each day from January 1, 2016 until (but not including) the closing date.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as lead financial advisor to BioMed Realty, with Raymond James & Associates, Inc. also acting as a financial advisor in connection with this transaction. Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as BioMed Realty’s legal advisor. Eastdil Secured Group of Wells Fargo Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., JP Morgan Securities LLC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are acting as Blackstone’sfinancial advisors in connection with the transaction. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal advisor to Blackstone.
BioMed Realty will release financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2015 in early November. As a result of today’s announcement, the company will not host a conference call and webcast to discuss financial results and operations for the quarter.
About BioMed Realty Trust
BioMed Realty invests in the highest quality institutional real estate to meet the needs of the growing demand across the life science industry. The company owns or has interests in properties comprising approximately 18.8 million rentable square feet. Additional information is available at www.biomedrealty.com. Follow us on Twitter @biomedrealty.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has approximately $92 billion in investor capital under management. Blackstone’s real estate portfolio includes hotel, office, retail, industrial and residential properties in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Major holdings include Hilton Worldwide, Invitation Homes (single family homes), Logicor (pan-European logistics), SCP (Chinese shopping malls), and prime office buildings in the world’s major cities. Blackstone real estate also operates one of the leading real estate finance platforms, including management of the publicly traded Blackstone Mortgage Trust.