Analysts from both Citigroup and Credit Suisse issued opinions Monday on the pending merger and encouraged shareholders to approve the deal, especially in the wake of last quarter's results. "Reckson's 3Q results came in significantly below expectations, underscoring our view a higher bidder is unlikely to emerge," said John Stewart and Michael Gorman of Credit Suisse in a statement. "We see significant downside to (Reckson) in the event activist shareholders succeed in blocking the transaction."

Citigroup, which served as a financial advisor to Reckson in the transaction, agreed failure to approve the merger would be detrimental. "We think the worst thing for Reckson's shareholders at this time would be for the SL Green merger to fall apart," the report said. Operating fundamentals appear somewhat strained, consistent with the view we had in May, when we cut (Reckson) to sell." Jonathan Litt and Michael Bilerman issued Citigroup's opinion.

But it remains uncertain if shareholders can gain greater value for the non-core assets. Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder completes its letter with, "We welcome the opportunity to find out how much more than $2.1 billion an unaffiliated third party might pay for the non-core assets after a full and fair auction process, whether SL Green or another party ultimately acquires the core assets." Credit Suisse sees the potential of garnering a higher price in an open auction on the suburban assets SL Green plans to sell off. Citigroup said, "It appears that Scott Rechler is not getting a sweetheart deal for the assets he is buying."

Both companies express thoughts of a 'conspiracy theory' that Reckson posted understated Q3 results to make the merger more attractive. "The cynic in us questions whether the earnings miss in the quarter was designed to ensure that the deal gets done, as the sudden rise in expenses seems well-timed," Citigroup said.