Why Healthcare Realty Trust Fell as Much as 10.5% Today
Shares of office-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE: HR) fell in early trading on Feb. 28, losing as much as 10.5% of its value. By roughly 2 p.m. ET the stock was still off by about 10%. Meanwhile, office peer Healthcare Trust of America's (NYSE: HTA) shares were down as much as 4% at 2 p.m. ET, which is a bit odd, given that there's an acquisition going on here.
Healthcare Realty Trust and Healthcare Trust of America have agreed to combine their businesses, with Healthcare Trust of America shareholders receiving total compensation of $35.08 per share, according to the news release issued before the market opened today. That said, $4.82 of that will come from a special dividend paid to Healthcare Trust of America shareholders, with the rest coming in the form of stock. But it isn't that simple, because this is designed as a reverse merger, with Healthcare Trust of America buying Healthcare Realty Trust. So the dividend is the only tangible thing shareholders of Healthcare Trust of America will receive, the rest of the value is "implied" based on the planned 1-for-1 stock exchange.
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Source Fool.com