PHOENIX-Six months after announcing their merger, Spirit Realty Capital Inc. and Cole Credit Property Trust II Inc. have finalized the $7.4 billion agreement, with the new company operating under the Spirit Realty Capital brand name. The stock, operating under the ticker symbol SRC, will begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange.

The transaction was previously approved by both companies' stockholders at meetings that took place on June 12. The combined company is one of the largest publicly traded net-lease real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the United States, owning approximately 1,900 properties in 48 states. As a result of the merger, the company also has significantly enhanced scale and scope, a more diversified portfolio of high-quality real estate assets and enhanced access to capital.

“The successful completion of this transformative merger establishes us as one of the leaders in the dynamic and attractive net-lease sector of the REIT market, which continues to be an area of increasing focus for institutional investors,” says Thomas H. Nolan, Jr., chairman and CEO of Spirit Realty Capital. “By combining with CCPT II, we have made significant progress on the strategic objectives we articulated at the time of our IPO less than one year ago. The new company's diversified portfolio and flexible balance sheet will enable us to capitalize on a range of future opportunities, including both organic direct portfolio acquisitions and strategic transactions. We remain focused on improving our portfolio diversity and scaling our business in order to continue to deliver a durable and growing dividend to shareholders.”