Mack-Cali, Prentiss Deep-Six Merger Plans

CRANFORD, NJ-You don’t have to wait anymore for the long-awaited merger between Mack-Cali Realty Corp. and Prentiss Properties. The deal, valued at $2.3 billion, has been deep-sixed by the boards of both firms.

Mack CEO Mitchell Hersh was unavailable for comment, but in a prepared statement, he explains that the termination agreement calls for Prentiss to gain Mack’s 270,000-sf Cielo Center in Austin for $47.1 million. In addition, the locally based REIT has deposited $25 million into an escrow account for the “benefit of Prentiss Properties.”Turning a negative into a positive, Hersh said in the statement that while “We’re disappointed that the merger will not occur, this settlement allows Mack-Cali and Prentiss to refocus on their core strategies.”He may be disappointed, but investors might relax a bit. The deal was not a favorite on Wall Street; Mack-Cali share price took a beating and several analysts downgraded the company’s rating. “The deal is dilutive to earnings by at least 10 cents a share and dilutive to net asset value by almost 10%, which is enormous,” Christopher Haley, an analyst with First Union Securities, said at the time.But the wisdom of the marriage might be a concern to fewer investors going forward, since Mack-Cali has also announced this morning that it will repurchase up to $150 million of its outstanding common stock.