NEW YORK CITY-Stockholders in both W. P. Carey Inc. and Corporate Property Associates 16 – Global Incorporated, its publicly held, non-traded REIT affiliate, have approved a merger of the two companies. The transaction, which will give W. P. Carey an equity market capitalization of about $6.5 billion and a total market cap of approximately $10 billion is expected to close this coming Friday.

“With the addition of assets that have been managed since their acquisition by W. P. Carey's management team, the merger with CPA:16 – Global reinforces W. P. Carey's status as a leading net lease REIT of significant scale and increasingly diversified global portfolio,” says Trevor Bond, CEO of W. P. Carey, which became a REIT in the fall of 2012. “By enhancing our access to diverse, efficiently priced sources of capital, the merger will continue to position us to capitalize on new opportunities that support W. P. Carey's longstanding tradition of stable dividend growth and value creation for our shareholders.”

The global portfolio of the combined companies will consist of more than 85 million square feet of corporate real estate leased to over 230 companies around the world. W. P. Carey will continue to manage CPA:17 – Global, CPA:18 – Global and Carey Watermark Investors, its publicly held, non-traded REITs.

W. P. Carey also said Monday that for the full year 2014 it expects to report adjusted funds from operations of between $4.40 to $4.65 per diluted share. The company expects to update its annual AFFO guidance in connection with the release of its quarterly earnings throughout the year.

For the pending merger between W. P. Carey and CPA:16 – Global, BofA Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisor to W. P. Carey, while DLA Piper LLP (US) is the REIT's legal advisor. CPA:16 – Global's advisory team includes Barclays on the financial advisor side and Clifford Chance US LLP for legal counsel. Pepper Hamilton acted as legal advisor to the CPA:16 – Global Special Committee. Reed Smith LLP provided real estate counsel.

In merger news from the West Coast, Sacramento-based general contractor Tricorp Hearn Construction and private equity firm American Colonial Capital LLC said Monday that they have reached a merger accord. A 60-day quiet period has begun as negotiations progress for Tricorp Hearn to merge with ACC, and further information will be released at the end of the quiet period.

“We are very excited about our relationship with Tricorp Hearn,” says Shahvand Aryana, chairman of Palm Desert, CA-based ACC. “We feel they are the best fit due to their general contracting and construction management experience in many of the same markets in which we participate.”

Last week, ACC and Axxcess Capital Ventures announced that they had signed an agreement for Axxcess to source acquisition and development capital for ACC's Institutional investments, Delaware Statutory Trusts and private non-traded REITs. Aryana said Axxess proved to be the best fit after speaking with several potential partners, on account of its leadership, experience, capital sourcing and asset management capabilities.

“We are very impressed with the qualifications and experience of American Colonial Capital's management team, and are committed to help raise capital for all of their projects,” Tim Snodgrass, president of Axxcess Capital, said last week. “We already have expressed interest from our initial presentations to several of our institutional groups, including Goldman Sachs. We have also initiated processes to raise capital through our retail broker dealer network.”