NEW YORK CITY and LOS ANGELES—Shares of Colony NorthStar Credit Real Estate Inc., the publicly traded finance REIT created from the merger of two non-traded entities, began trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the CLNC ticker. The merger of NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust Inc. (NorthStar I) and NorthStar Real Estate Income II Inc. (NorthStar II), which also entailed the contribution of $1.6 billion of assets and liabilities from Colony Northstar Inc. (CLNS), was first announced this past August.

The all-stock merger has resulted in a commercial real estate credit REIT with approximately $5.1 billion in assets under management and $3.3 billion, or approximately $25 per share, of book value. It's now the second largest publicly listed commercial mortgage REIT after Starwood Property Trust.

With an equity stake of approximately 37%, CLNS is the new entity's largest investor. A CLNS subsidiary manages CLNC, whose strategy is to originate senior mortgages, mezzanine loans and preferred equity interests, while selectively acquiring other CRE debt and credit assets and net leased real estate.