The acquisition of Denver-based Archstone-Smith by a joint venture of Tishman Speyer Real Estate and Lehman Brothers, which will take Archstone-Smith out of the publicly traded space, has been completed.After the transaction's originally scheduled closing was delayed, and in the difficult credit environment, there was market speculation about whether the transaction would close. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were also involved in financing the approximately $22.2 billion acquisition, which includes the assumption of the real estate investment trust's debt outstanding. In addition to equity input from Tishman Speyer and Lehman Brothers, financing was also obtained from Banc of America Strategic Ventures and Barclays Bank, Archstone-Smith reported. The multifamily REIT's shareholders are to receive $60.75 per share. R. Scot Sellers, chief executive officer of the REIT, will remain CEO of the new entity. The Archstone-Smith portfolio includes 359 communities, with 87,667 units, located on the East and West coasts. Fannie Mae was involved in the purchase of a $7.1 billion credit facility, secured by 105 properties that are a part of the deal, and Freddie Mac's input was in the form of a $1.8 billion structured transaction backed by 47 properties. Archstone-Smith can be found online at http://www.archstonesmith.com.
