The Movie Transformers Starring Colonial Properties Trust 
For the past two weekends, Transformers has been the biggest movie at the US box office. The movie, based on the fantastically popular 80’s toy of the same name, has something in common this week with Colonial Properties Trust. In the movie, unassuming everyday items such as cars and fighter jets transform into intelligent and robust robots. In real life, Colonial Properties Trust just announced that their transformation is complete as well.
Colonial Properties Trust has transformed from a diversified collection of income generating assets into a lean mean multi-family dividend machine. However, I’m not entirely convinced that this transformation is not the beginning of an exit strategy for CLP management.
Say what? Well earlier this year we witnessed a similar but smaller BNP Residential acquired by the Australian firm Babcock and Brown. BNP’s former headquarters in Charlotte, NC, is now the US headquarters of Babcock and Brown Residential. Likewise, press releases filed by CLP indicate that the company already has entered into joint ventures with Babcock and Brown. It could be that BNP was simply the start of Babcock’s multi-family apartment empire, or maybe BNP was a trial-run with a smaller company to see if the Australian investment firm can successfully transition a public REIT into a private enterprise.
Share It: 
Bookmark It: 
Jul.13.2007. 22:47
Rob Ableson on Dec.21.2007. 18:19
Interesting. I just heard from a staffer at Wonkette that they're writing a piece for this Monday about how they just fired (not laid off) about 20 property managers in the Southeast, from Atlanta on south. Coupled with their stock being half what it had been...think Colonial's upper management may be looking at a massive restructuring.
* = required field