ATLANTA, GA - Chances for a sale of Post Properties Inc. appear to be dimming amid weaker than expected first quarter earnings and the loss of a key prospective buyer for the company. The Atlanta-based real-estate investment trust recently reported that first-quarter net profit fell to $800,000, or two cents a share, from $22.6 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier. The company said a strategic review spurred by the buyout offers had cost $6 million, or 14 cents a share. That is costly for a sale that looks less and less likely.
An unsolicited bid from Post founder John Williams along with Cadim, the real-estate arm of a Montreal pension fund, in the $44-to-$47-a-share range, caused the company to entertain bids in January. But the Williams-Cadim offer was withdrawn in March after Cadim's interest waned, according to people familiar with the matter.
Post hasn't provided an update, but pricing for the company is believed to have fallen to less than $41 a share. "I don't think the board will sell the company for less than $40 a share," says Haendel St. Juste, an analyst with Green Street Advisors, a research firm.
Other possible bidders include Walton Street Capital LLC, Starwood Capital Group and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Whitehall Street Real Estate Fund, according to people familiar with the matter. Starwood and Whitehall declined to comment. Walton didn't return calls.
Source: Wall Street Journal