Nontraded REIT shareholders OK listing but price still uncertain

At their annual meeting today, shareholders of Cole Real Estate Investments Inc. approved changing the REIT's charter, giving managers the green light to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The company said in a news release that it expects to begin trading tomorrow on the Big Board. The company, formerly named Cole Credit Property Trust III, will have the ticker symbol COLE. It has $7.7 billion in assets. "We believe that a listing on the New York Stock Exchange is the best outcome for our stockholders," said Chris Cole, founder and chairman of Cole Real Estate Investments, in the release. Independent representatives and advisers who sold COLE III, as it is known in the industry, will watch keenly whether Cole Real Estate Investments will trade near or above $12.50 per share. That's the last price that American Realty Capital Properties Inc., a traded REIT, offered for Cole III in a hostile takeover earlier this year. American Realty Capital Properties, whose chief executive, Nicholas Schorsch, has shaken up the nontraded REIT industry, made its first hostile offer for Cole III in March, with a $12 per share bid. After Cole management rejected that offer, American Realty Capital Properties upped it to $12.50 in cash or $13.59 in American Realty Capital shares. After that offer was also rejected, American Realty Capital withdrew its proposal. Both Cole III and American Realty Capital Properties own net-lease real estate, in which the tenant is responsible for the costs of maintenance and insurance.