Firm to Study Bren’s Buyout Offer

Irvine Apartment Communities Inc. said Wednesday that its board has hired Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. to evaluate a $540-million offer from its chairman, billionaire developer Donald Bren, to take the company private.

Bren, through his closely held Irvine Co., offered $32.50 a share for 83% of IAC’s common shares earlier this month. At the time, the offer represented a 19% premium.

IAC, a real estate investment trust based in Newport Beach, has since risen 16%. It closed Wednesday at $31.88, up 13 cents, in New York Stock Exchange trading.

The company said Morgan Stanley was hired by a special committee of its independent directors.

IAC owns or has under development 62 apartment communities with 18,758 units, mostly in Southern California.

The company is the first REIT to attempt to go private in the wake of a 16% slump in REIT stock prices this year, which has made it difficult for companies to finance acquisitions through share offerings.