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Merger of Benefit Street, Capstead Will Create Fourth-Largest Commercial Mortgage REIT
Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust (BSPRT), a publicly-registered, non-listed REIT based in New York, and Dallas-based Capstead Mortgage Corporation have agreed to merge. The combined company, to be known as Franklin BSP Realty Trust, will become the fourth largest commercial mortgage REIT with nearly $2 billion of pro forma equity.
Post close, the capital base of Capstead, a residential mortgage REIT, will be transitioned into commercial mortgage loans, where BSPRT is focused. BSPRT’s external manager, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc., will manage the combined company.
Richard J. Byrne, BSPRT’s president and CEO, said, “With the combined capital of BSPRT and Capstead, we are well positioned to capture opportunities ahead of us and create superior value for our stockholders. We believe our differentiated investment strategy, marked by a focus on middle market commercial real estate mortgages, provides us a significant competitive advantage.”
- ◦Sale/Acquisition
