Bizjournal: Some of the main drivers for the acquisition of LPT included: 1) Prologis will take on a little more than 1,600 acres that Liberty has banked. 2) There was a lot of overlap that helped bolster either tenant relationships or grow Prologis' depth in a market. 3) Prologis intends to sell some of Liberty’s industrial and office properties, which may include the Comcast Center. 4) The Lehigh Valley has been a market Prologis has been trying to grow in for years. 5) Not all employees will get folded into the merged company.

Authored by: Natalie Kostelni (bizjournal)

My thoughts: I first covered this story eight months ago, when the WSJ reported that activist hedge fund, Land & Buildings, did not feel Liberty Property Trust’ plan would adequately close the gap between the current share price and the intrinsic value of the company. Rising rents, premium portfolio trades by the likes of Blackstone (acquisition of GPT) and Prologis (acquisition of DCT), and Amazon’s takeover of the world have pushed firms like Duke Realty and LPT to fully commit to industrial. Unfortunately, the commitment happened a little too late and the REITs were not able to move as quickly as the barons of wall street demanded.