Mid-America Apartment And Post Properties To Merge

(RTTNews) - Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. (MAA) and Post Properties Inc. (PPS) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Post Properties, Inc. will merge with and into MAA.

The combined company is expected to have a pro forma equity market capitalization of about $12 billion and a total market capitalization of about $17 billion.

As per the terms of the agreement, each share of Post common stock will be converted into 0.71 shares of newly issued MAA common stock. On a pro forma basis, following the merger, former MAA equity holders will hold approximately 67.7 percent of the combined company's equity, and former Post equity holders will hold approximately 32.3 percent. The all-stock merger is intended to be a tax-deferred transaction. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of the approval of a majority of both the MAA and Post shareholders. The parties currently expect the transaction to close during the fourth quarter of 2016.

Both the Board of Directors of MAA and Board of Directors of Post have unanimously approved the merger. The number of directors on MAA's Board of Directors will be increased to 13, of which 3 directors will be designated by Post from its existing Board of Directors and appointed to the MAA Board. H. Eric Bolton, Jr., MAA's CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, will serve as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the combined company. Alan B. Graf, Jr. will continue to serve as Lead Independent Director for the combined company.

Upon completion of the merger, the company will retain the MAA name and will trade under the ticker symbol MAA (NYSE). Following the closing of the transaction, the combined company's corporate headquarters will be located in Memphis, TN with the company also maintaining a significant presence in Atlanta, GA and Dallas, TX, including management and resources supporting new development operations.

Annual gross synergies are estimated to be approximately $20 million. The combined company is expected to benefit from the elimination of duplicative costs associated with supporting a public company platform. In addition, through enhanced scale and leveraging of the combined company's state-of-the-art technology and operating systems, MAA expects the combined company to capture enhanced operating margins. These savings and enhancements are expected to be realized upon full integration, which is expected to occur over the 12-month period following the closing of the merger.