Remember the era when it felt like half of all retail REITs were buying the other half?

The result was the consolidation of enclosed mall ownership among just a handful of major companies, many of which have more recently divested some of their holdings to smaller, private firms. The same was not true of smaller projects; despite the presence of a few mega-companies like Kimco Realty, neighborhood center ownership remains quite fragmented.

But maybe consolidation is starting up in this sector. Regency Centers has offered to acquire AmREIT for $22 per share in cash or stock (about $433 million), some $2 per share above the latter's all-time stock price. The deal, if it goes through, would give Regency a much larger presence in Texas (including prominent areas in Houston) as well as additional properties in Georgia. AmREIT's portfolio was 97.6 percent occupied as of the end of the first quarter, according to its conference call, during which executives discussed their own plans to make targeted acquisitions. (AmREIT went public less than two years ago.)

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