PALO ALTO, CA-The news came in the small hours of the morning that after a prolonged period of offers and counter-offers, Town & Country Trust will merge with Magazine Acquisition. The shareholder vote is expected to come March 9.

The decision was based on Oriole Partnership's refusal to raise the bidding any further, throwing the decision to Magazine Acquisition. At last look, yesterday, Magazine had upped its bid to $40.20 per share and partnership units. That was more than 18% higher than the initial price at which the locally based REIT tentatively agreed to be acquired late last year.

For those following the play-by-play, Oriole Partnership is a joint venture investment vehicle formed among Essex Property Trust, Inc., UBS Wealth Management - North American Property Fund Ltd. and AEW Oriole Co-Investment. Magazine Acquisition LLC is a vehicle created by Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Onex Real Estate.

As GlobeSt.com has reported, Magazine Acquisition's original $33.90 offer was turned into a definitive merger agreement in December. On Jan. 31, Oriole Partnership jumped into the game with a $36 offer. On Feb. 6, it raised its offer to $38.50 to top by $1.50 an offer by Berkshire Property Investors, which has been quiet ever since. On Feb. 8, Magazine Acquisition raised its bid to $39 only to see it quickly topped by Oriole, with $39.50.