What to do With Summit

Article Excerpt

SUMMIT REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $29.79 (Toronto symbol SMU.UN; SI Rating: Extra risk) is now the subject of a friendly takeover bid from ING Real Estate Canada Trust. ING Real Estate is part of ING Group, a major global financial institution based in the Netherlands. ING is offering $30 for each unit of Summit REIT. Summit’s board has recommended that unitholders accept the offer. Summit is focused primarily on the light industrial segment of the Canadian real estate industry (92% of its total portfolio), with additional investments in the Canadian groceryanchored retail sector (7%). It also owns two office properties. Summit’s total portfolio contains 33 million square feet of space. We last recommended Summit in our February, 2006 issue at $25.70 per unit. That’s a gain of 15.9%. Summit’s units are now trading slightly below the offering price, so it’s unlikely a competing bid will emerge. Summit REIT investors should hold their units for now, and then tender them when the offer is approved…