ORLANDO-At least one analyst is giving a "thumbs up" to locally based restaurant REIT Trustreet Properties Inc.'s decision to enter into an agreement to be acquired by Scottsdale, AZ-based GE Capital Solutions, Franchise Finance.

"We believe the transaction is a good one for Trustreet and its shareholders," says Trustreet analyst Philip Martin, of Cantor Fitzgerald in Chicago. "We have always felt Trustreet has a valuable platform, which was considered a 'go to' financing source to the restaurant industry and consisted on an irreplaceable portfolio, a successful property sales group and significant management depth and experience."

The transaction, at an estimated value of $3 billion, involves the payment of $17.05 per outstanding share of Trustreet's common stock and the assumption or refinancing of the company's outstanding debt. GE Capital Solutions, a lender for the franchise finance market in the US and Canada, will add Trustreet's restaurant 1031 trading platform to its own franchise finance business and will establish an East Coast office at the company's Orlando headquarters.

Trustreet provides triple-net lease financing to operators of national and regional restaurant chains. The company's core net-lease portfolio has more than 2,000 properties including restaurant brands such as Applebee's, Burger King, Jack in the Box, Pizza Hut and Wendy's.

"The platform provided Trustreet with competitive advantages and a portfolio that delivered relatively high quality and stable cash flows throughout the economic cycle," Martin says. "These attributes, however, were largely ignored and not reflected in Trustreet's share price or FFO multiple of late."

The transaction, which is subject to the approval of Trustreet's common shareholders and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter 2007.