NEW YORK CITY—It's shaping up to be a red-letter day for stock sales in commercial real estate. CBS Corp. said Wednesday it would sell off its 81% ownership in CBS Outdoor Americas Inc., after which the outdoor advertising company would convert to a REIT. Separately, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. on Wednesday filed to sell 90 million shares of Hilton stock currently under the control of the Blackstone Group, which took the hotel operator public last fall. It's the third announcement of a stock sale by a Blackstone-controlled CRE company in as many weeks.
The CBS Outdoor split-off will take the form of an exchange, in which CBS shareholders can exchange class A or B common stock for shares of CBS Outdoor common stock at a 7% discount. The exchange, which would total 97 million shares, is expected to take place over a three-day period beginning July 7. CBS Outdoor held its IPO in late March, in a stock offering that valued it at about $3.36 billion.
“CBS has been a great owner for many years, but as a wholly independent company, we believe we can take CBS Outdoor to new heights,” says Jeremy Male, CEO of CBS Outdoor. “Our expected REIT conversion is an opportunity to create additional long-term value for our shareholders. We're very excited about our future.”
Hilton's SEC filing on Wednesday called for the sale of as many as 103.5 million of the 752.5 million shares that Blackstone currently holds. The sale would reduce Blackstone's controlling stake in McLean, VA-based Hilton from 76.4% to 67.3%, or 65.9% if the underwriters' option was exercised fully.
Another lodging company in the Blackstone portfolio, Extended Stay America, on Tuesday filed a registration statement for 21 million paired shares on behalf of funds affiliated with Blackstone, Centerbridge Partners LP and Paulson & Co. The Centerbridge-led investment group acquired Extended Stay out of bankruptcy in 2010, and the Charlotte, NC-based hotelier held its IPO last November.
Late last month, shopping-center owner Brixmor Property Group, which also went public under the aegis of Blackstone in the fall of 2013, filed for a secondary offering of 25 million shares currently controlled by Blackstone. The stock sale would reduce the private equity giant's stake in New York City-based Brixmor from 77.2% to 69%, according to the filing.
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