iStar to Buy Falcon Financial

New York-based iStar Financial, a commercial real estate financing company, is acquiring Falcon Financial Investment Trust for $7.50 per share, making for a total acquisition price of about $120 million, according to iStar.Falcon is a finance company that provides long-term capital to automotive dealers nationwide, iStar said. The company is going to commence a tender offer for Falcon's outstanding shares. "We continue to seek opportunities in the underserved segments of the real estate market," said Jay Sugarman, iStar's chairman and chief executive officer. "Having been Falcon Financial's sole source of warehouse financing for most of the last year, we fully appreciate the considerable challenges the company has encountered due to its size and reliance on the less-flexible securitization market for long-term financing." The board of directors of the two companies have approved the agreement, iStar said.