AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc. (NYSE: MITT) has made an unsolicited offer to acquire Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corp. (NYSE: WMC), which is already in merger talks with another real estate investment trust.
In a letter to the Western Asset board of directors, AG Mortgage Investment President and CEO T.J. Durkin proposed his company would “purchase WMC for an implied value of $9.88 per share, representing an 18.2% premium to WMC’s closing share price as of July 12, 2023. Notably, we are submitting our proposal following WMC’s proposed merger (the “TPT transaction”) with Terra Property Trust, Inc. (“TPT”), a non-traded REIT, which has been followed by a 10.1% decline in WMC’s share price since being announced on June 28, 2023.”
Durkin’s proposal values Western Asset at about $300 million, including debt, and his offer included waive approximately $2.4 million of management fees after the deal closes.
Durkin added the blending of his company with Western Asset “would result in a focused, residential mortgage REIT with an optimized capital structure and significant growth potential and value-creating opportunities for the combined company’s stockholders. Our complementary core competences in residential mortgage credit would establish an even more efficient and competitive company.”
Western Asset did not issue a public response to Durkin’s proposal.
