Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. NYSE:BAM, a global asset manager, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a Canadian pension investment organization, have agreed to acquire LXP Industrial Trust NYSE:LXP, a real estate investment trust that owns industrial properties, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $5.2 billion, including net debt and preferred equity. Under the agreement, LXP shareholders will receive $61.20 per share, representing a 12% premium to the company's volume-weighted average share price for the 30-day period ended July 17.
The acquisition would give Brookfield and CPP Investments control of LXP's portfolio of approximately 53 million square feet of real estate across 108 properties in industrial markets throughout the U.S. Sunbelt and Midwest. Sophie van Oosterom, CPP Investments' head of real estate, said the U.S. industrial sector continues to present attractive long-term investment opportunities supported by domestic manufacturing, changing global supply chains and population growth in major Sunbelt markets.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, after which LXP would stop trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Investors may view the $5.2 billion agreement and its 12% premium as evidence of continued institutional interest in industrial real estate, although the source did not provide additional financial projections or expected returns from the acquisition.