Maguire Properties becomes MPG Office Trust
Two years after Maguire Properties Inc. parted ways with founder Robert F. Maguire III, the Los Angeles office landlord is getting rid of his name, officially becoming MPG Office Trust Inc.
The board of directors approved the change Friday, Chief Executive Nelson Rising said, to end misunderstandings about who is running the company.
“It eliminates confusion our former name created in the marketplace and more accurately reflects where the company is today,” Rising said.
Relations with the combative founder have been strained. Last month Maguire, who is still a major shareholder, criticized the current management in stern letters to the board. Maguire wasn’t available for comment Tuesday.
Rising denied that Maguire’s recent criticism prompted the change.
“When people write articles about Maguire Properties and quote Maguire, who is not part of the company, it’s confusing,” Rising said.
Maguire left the company in May 2008 after a failed bid to take it private. Rising, a former partner of Maguire’s, was installed as his successor at the helm.
The company has been battered by falling occupancy and rents during the economic downturn and is still saddled with debt accumulated during an expansion led by Maguire in the mid-2000s. It reported a first-quarter profit Monday, linked largely to the forgiveness of a $49.1-million debt.
“I am cautiously optimistic that the economy is turning and our office sector will be benefited directly by job growth,” Rising said.
The company will continue to trade under the symbol MPG on the New York Stock Exchange. MPG’s shares closed at $3.53, up 39 cents.
