Capital Markets

SAN DIEGO-The inancially ailing REIT took both legal and financial hits during a disastrous third quarter. After a running battle with dissident investors over the value of the firm, the board decided to liquidate the company.

KANSAS CITY, MO-Midland Loan Services merges with Univest Financial Group. Midland has a loan servicing portfolio of about $50 billion; Univest is the first company to offer a Web-enabled solution for commercial loan servicing.

CHICAGO-1031properties.com has signed alliances with PropertyRover, StreamingVoices.com, Ameriquotes.com and Tax Deferred Services. It has also launched two new services, the Multimedia Center and the 1031 Intermediary finder service.

ORLANDO-Greg Hughes' Chesapeake Logistics Inc. of Tampa, FL is paying $31 million for the assets of 500,000-sf Mid-Florida Freezer Warehouses Ltd. in Port Canaveral, 60 miles east of Downtown. Mid-Florida Freezer officials concealed from Federal inspectors and later sold contaminated drums of fruit juice over a 30-year period, the government charged.

NEW YORK CITY-Several New York based companies have backed the creation of new Web-based ventures.

CHICAGO- Real estate titan continues to predict massive consolidation for the real estate industry, saying the upcoming changes will be akin to the "oligopolization" of steel and autos early last century. Zell says the two REITs he launched and in which he remains the largest shareholder, Equity Office REIT and Equity Residential REIT, will increasingly focus on offering services to their huge client base. Sees Equity Residential offering insurance and mortgages to renters who are leaving to buy homes.

ATLANTA-The selling prices are between $44.50 and $46 per share. The stock was acquired between $28.05 and $38.94 per share. The stock is currently trading at about $44 per share.