NEW YORK CITY—Taking some steps to remedy its troubles—but possibly not doing enough to appease shareholders—the board of New York REIT has authorized the company to repurchase up to $150 million of the company's common stock. Additionally, the board has authorized the engagement of Cushman & Wakefield and HFF to sell certain of the company's non-core assets as part of its efforts to “focus on high quality New York City real estate generating consistent, stable returns and providing significant long-term capital appreciation opportunities,” according to a statement from the REIT.

Meanwhile, NYRT has appointed Randolph Read the non-executive chairman of the company's board of directors—replacing William Kahane, who will continue to serve as a director—while the board was “overwhelmingly” re-elected at today's shareholders meeting.

Several NYRT activist investors last week sent letters, which were made public, to the company expressing displeasure with its actions. First, Sorin Capital Management questioned “the substantial gap that has developed between the common stock share price of New York REIT and the underlying value of the company's assets." The following day, a joint missive came from First Winthrop Corp. and the Witkoff Group offering themselves up to be engaged as NYRT's external advisor. Simultaneously, Rambleside Holdings sent NYRT CEO Michael Happel a note which said, in part, “Rambleside believes NYRT trades at a discount of at least 40% to true NAV. This is shocking given you have assembled a world-class portfolio of assets. The only way the board can demonstrate its commitment to shareholders is to commence a sale or liquidation process immediately.”

In explaining the new measures, Happel says, “The market has gained a better understanding of our company as a result of our persistence in communicating our story and explaining our company's strengths. As recently as these past two weeks, we engaged in direct conversations with many of our largest stockholders at NAREIT. We augmented these discussions with a written investor presentation furnished as an exhibit to the 8-K filed with the SEC on June 9, 2015. That presentation highlighted our New York City focus, our high quality real estate portfolio, our strong prospects for earnings and asset growth, our solid balance sheet, and our attractive valuation.”

He adds, “Management's job is to continue to grow earnings, keep our buildings leased, invest capital accretively, and deliver long-term value to our stockholders. As we continue to deliver on these objectives, we believe we should be able to close the valuation difference between our current trading price and what management believes is our considerably higher net asset value.

“The company closely examined its portfolio of assets and, given robust market conditions, believes the time is right to pursue divestures of non-core assets to strengthen its focus on internal and external growth opportunities related to core assets.”

Says Read, “The actions announced today reflect our continuing commitment to enhance long-term stockholder value and to act in the best interests of our company's stockholders. Many of our investors have reacted positively to our message. I am honored to be appointed to the role of chairman,and look forward to working with the rest of my colleagues on the Board during this exciting time for NYRT.”

Instant Insights /

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