NEW YORK CITY-Two weeks after implementing a shareholder rights plan to protect against unsolicited takeover attempts, Centerline Holding Co. said Wednesday that its board of trustees had authorized takeover negotiations with Hunt Capital Partners LLC. The multifamily lender and investor said in a release that its board is negotiating with Denver-based Hunt “with the goal of maximizing shareholder value.”

The Hunt Cos. affiliate on April 22 had acquired 978,274 common shares of Centerline's common stock from Island Capital Group through Hunt affiliate Otsego Shares LLC for $39 million in cash, according to SEC filings. The acquisition represented about 41% of the common shares outstanding and prompted Centerline's implementation of the shareholder rights plan.

“Centerline has entered into a standstill and exclusivity agreement with Hunt which obligates the company to negotiate in good faith with Hunt to attempt to reach mutual agreement on a transaction and precludes the company from exploring other alternatives until 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 16, 2013,” according to a release. “Hunt indicated an interest in acquiring the remaining ownership of the company.”

The company notes in the release that the negotiations are ongoing and “there can be no assurance with respect to the terms or the timing of any transaction, or whether conditions to closing, including third party consents, will be satisfied and a transaction will be concluded at all.” Additionally, the release notes that Centerline's policy is not to comment on, or provide updates about, the status of the negotiations “until such time, if ever, that it enters into a definitive agreement for a completed transaction or is otherwise required to make an announcement.”