Prime Retail Shareholders OK Acquisition

Prime Retail Inc., Baltimore, has reported that its shareholders have voted in favor of its acquisition by an affiliate of The Lightstone Group, a New Jersey-based real estate company.Prime Retail, a real estate investment trust, said the total acquisition price is $115.5 million, plus the assumption of about $511 million of secured debt by the buyer. Prime Retail series A preferred shareholders are to be paid $18.40 per share in cash, the REIT's series B preferred shareholders $18.169 per share in cash, and the company's common shareholders $0.17 per share in cash. The company's series A preferred shareholders, mainly Merrill Lynch and Fortress Investment Trust II, had expressed their dissatisfaction with Prime's initial offer of $16.25 per share, causing the REIT to revise it upward. The payouts to the series B and common stockholders have been pared down, however, from an initial offer of $8.66 per share and $0.18 per share, respectively. The merger is expected to go through in the next month. Responding to this development, Prime Retail stock moved to $0.162 per share around midday Wednesday, up 16% from Tuesday's close of $0.14 per share. The REIT can be found online at http://www.primeretail.com.