Kendal Sibley, partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, participated in a video interview during REITwise 2022: Nareit's Law, Accounting & Finance Conference held in Orlando, Florida on March 23-25.
Sibley discussed transactions in the REIT market, noting that the first thing to consider with mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is whether the deal is going to be a taxable deal or a tax-deferred deal. “This is a big difference for the shareholders,” she said. In some situations there will be no option other than a taxable deal, whereas in other cases a taxable deal might be desired. Knowing that information at the forefront of any deal allows it to be structured more efficiently, she added.
Meanwhile, Sibley discussed operating partnership (OP) unit deals, noting that while a lot of OP negotiations occur, fewer deals are actually getting done.
Sibley also commented on innovative deal structures she has seen. She pointed to simultaneous spin offs and asset sales contemplated as part of the transaction, as examples.