CDP Capital Buying Criimi Mae

CDP Capital Financing, a subsidiary of Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, is acquiring Criimi Mae in a transaction valued at about $328 million.Criimi Mae, a commercial mortgage investor and servicer, has announced that a subsidiary of CDP Capital will merge into Criimi Mae, and Criimi Mae's common shareholders will be paid $20 in cash. "Through a competitive bidding process, the board of directors has helped our shareholders realize value for their shares at a significant premium to the current trading price," said Barry S. Blattman, chairman and chief executive officer of Criimi Mae. If approved by Criimi Mae shareholders, the merger is expected to go through in the first quarter of 2006. The merger agreement allows Criimi Mae to solicit other acquisition proposals. If the agreement is terminated, Criimi Mae will pay a fee of up to $2 million for reimbursement of CDP's expenses. After January 2006, there is also a breakup fee of $8 million associated with the termination of the merger agreement. The companies can be found online at http://www.cdpcapital.com and http://www.criimimaeinc.com.