Financial experts have said that Cerberus, a large stakeholder in GMAC, was the key to arranging a potential offer. No one from the companies could be reached for comment. Vornado may still take another run at a separate counter offer, the reports reveal.
Blackstone has offered a per-share price of $48.50 for EOP, though the REIT's stock closed at $49.85 Tuesday, Jan. 16, near the highest price it's been since both offers surfaced. A spokesman for Blackstone would not comment on any other offers.
There have been a few EOP bond and shareholders who have said, in statements and in lawsuits, that the REIT should have negotiated a higher price for the company. Richard D. Kincaid, chief executive officer of EOP, has said that a deal this size is going to incur many reactions.
According to the merger documents, if a counteroffer is made, Blackstone has three days to top the new deal. The company would get $200 million if EOP goes with another offer, according to the agreement. The EOP stockholders vote on the merger on Feb. 5.
Two years ago, Vornado was on the winning side of a deal that derailed a major Cerberus offer for the Toys "R" Us chain. Vornado partnered with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Bain Capital Partners to buy the company for $6.6 billion, more than $350 million more than Cerberus' offer, though Cerberus had been trying to buy the property since 2003.
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