Acquisition Gives Big Boost to Arden’s Southland Holdings

Arden Realty Inc. has completed its $614.5-million purchase of the portfolio of Newport Beach-based Layton-Belling & Associates.

The 50 office and industrial properties comprise 5.2 million square feet and increase the real estate investment trust’s holdings by about 30% to 16.4 million square feet. That makes Beverly Hills-based Arden one of the largest commercial landlords in Southern California.

“Not only did we expand our presence in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, but we now have a major presence in the key sub-markets of San Diego and Orange counties,” the company said in a statement. It noted that to acquire these properties individually would have taken several years.

The acquisition was financed with proceeds from a recent secondary stock offering, a $200-million bridge loan from Lehman Bros. Realty Corp., and also the issuance of 203,420 operating partnership units to the principals of LBA and warrants for 2.5 million additional shares of common stock.

Arden shares closed at $28.38 on Monday, down 19 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.