Regency Centers Corp. announced May 18 an agreement to buy Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.4 billion.
Greenwich, Connecticut-based Urstadt Biddle, like Regency, focuses on operating neighborhood shopping centers.
The company has 77 properties mainly in the New York metropolitan area.
Jacksonville-based Regency operates 404 properties across the country, mainly grocery-anchored shopping centers.
“The portfolio that Urstadt Biddle has carefully assembled over more than 50 years offers a highly aligned demographic and merchandising profile to Regency,” Lisa Palmer, CEO of Regency, said in a news release.
“Both companies have a successful track record of owning and operating best-in-class grocery-anchored neighborhood and community centers in premier suburban trade areas, and we look forward to the synergies and growth opportunities that this transaction will offer to the combined shareholder base,” she said.
“I have no doubt that our portfolio will be in great hands under Regency leadership, and as a future Regency shareholder I look forward to the scale and platform benefits that the combination of our two companies will provide,” Urstadt Biddle CEO Willing Biddle said in the release.
Regency agreed to issue 0.347 shares of its stock for each share of Urstadt Biddle, which will give Urstadt Biddle shareholders about 7% of Regency’s stock once the deal is completed,
Regency said the merger is expected to be immediately accretive to its core operating earnings.
The companies hope to complete the merger late in the third quarter or early in the fourth.