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Activist investor Land & Buildings Investment Management is pushing office building owner Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC) to sell its properties or face a proxy fight. EQC rose 1.7% in after-hours trading.
Land & Buildings has accumulated a 3% stake in Equity Commonwealth (EQC) and is considering a proxy fight in the form of a so-called withhold campaign, which encourages holders to not vote for some or all of the nominees, according to a WSJ report on Tuesday, which cited a letter the activist sent to the board.
Land & Buildings head Jonathan Litt said the office building owner has materially underperformed other real-estate investment trusts in recent years, according to the letter. Litt believes that office asset values have no imminent recovery and the best option for Equity Commonwealth (EQC) is to sell the properties now, according to the WSJ, which cited the letter.
Senior living REIT Ventas (VTR) agreed to a mutual cooperation pact with activist Land & Buildings earlier this month.