G&L, based in Beverly Hills, is a public real estate investment trust whose stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GLR. On an average day, only about 2,000 of its outstanding common shares change hands.
To be sure, no one will ever confuse tiny G&L, which posted revenue of $34 million last year, to mighty CB Richard Ellis, which recorded $1.2 billion in 1999 worldwide revenue. Yet, the efforts to take over the companies bear some similarities.
In G&L's case, CEO Daniel M. Gottlieb (he's the "G" in G&L) and president Steven D. Lebowitz (the "L") recently offered to pay $10 a share for the 71% of outstanding common stock that they don't already own. Likewise, some of CB Richard Ellis' top brass are part of the group that's trying to take their firm private by buying the 62% of shares their own group doesn't control.
Also like CB Richard Ellis, G&L has formed a special committee of its board to weigh their buyout offer. But while there's no quick end in site for the takeover battle at CB Richard Ellis, G&L could be taken private fairly quickly. While Gottlieb and Lebowitz already own 29% of the company's outstanding shares, they would automatically own 43% if they simply convert the operating partnership units they own.
Though 43% would fall short of a majority interest, it wouldn't take the two men much to buy the relatively few more shares needed to gain control. Other shareholders have also benefited in recent months: G&L's stock closed at $9.62 a share Friday, up nearly 50% from its 52-week low of $6.50.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
