Cracks Emerge in JBG, New York REIT’s Proposed $8.4B Deal

One of JBG’s many developments

CHEVY CHASE, MD—On Wednesday after market trading closed, JGB Cos. and New York REIT announced that JBG would be acquiring the New York-based company, creating a $8.4 billion entity that would be publicly traded. JBG Cos. likes the deal; the activist shareholders urging New York REIT to do something presumably like it as well.

But as a report in Bloomberg has noted, some REIT analysts are finding the information provided about the pending transaction wanting — largely because there has not been enough transparency around the valuation. It is hard to tell, in other words, whether New York REIT shareholders are getting a fair deal.  And indeed, New York REIT’s shareholders seems to have come to the same conclusion. On Thursday, New York REIT’s stock price dropped 8.1% to $9 per share by the market’s close.