Annaly Inks $872M Deal to Acquire Crexus

NEW YORK CITY-CreXus Investment Corp. and Annaly Capital Management said Thursday that they’d entered an agreement for Annaly to acquire the outstanding shares of CreXus stock it doesn’t currently own. The $872-million cash deal values CreXus at $996 million.

In a statement, Wellington Denahan, Annaly’s chairman and CEO, says the acquisition represents “a significant step toward Annaly’s commitment to investing directly in commercial real estate assets. We believe that wholly owning the commercial real estate platform we currently manage through FIDAC”— Fixed Income Discount Advisory Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Annaly that manages CreXus under a management contract—is complementary to our existing business and return profile and should provide stable and diversified risk-adjusted returns to our shareholders.” Based in New York City, Annaly is currently the nation’s largest mortgage REIT.