Blackstone to Buy CarrAmerica

CarrAmerica Realty Corp., Washington, D.C., has announced a merger agreement under which it will be acquired by an affiliate of The Blackstone Group in a transaction valued at approximately $5.6 billion.Under the agreement, Blackstone, a New York-based commercial real estate investor, will acquire all the outstanding common stock of CarrAmerica for $44.75 per share in cash. The share price represents an 18.4% premium over CarrAmerica's closing stock price on Feb. 16, the day before the first reports were published about a possible acquisition of the company, CarrAmerica said. CarrAmerica's board has unanimously approved the deal and recommended stockholder ratification. Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as financial adviser to CarrAmerica, and Blackstone's advisers were Citigroup, Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.carramerica.com and http://www.blackstone.com.