PHOENIX, Oct. 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- VEREIT,
Inc. (NYSE: VER) announced today that on October 26, 2018, VEREIT, Inc. and VEREIT
Operating Partnership, L.P. (collectively "VEREIT" or the
"Company") entered into Settlement Agreements and Releases (the
"Settlement Agreements") to settle previously disclosed litigations
with four class action opt out entities serving as plaintiffs in
the following actions pending in the
United States District Court for the Southern District of
New York: Archer Capital Master Fund, L.P., et al. v.
American Realty Capital Properties, Inc., et al, No.
1:16-cv-05471-AKH; Atlas Master Fund, Ltd., et al. v. American
Realty Capital Properties, Inc., et al., No. 1:16-cv-05475-AKH;
Fir Tree Capital Opportunity Master Fund, L.P., et al. v.
American Realty Capital Properties, Inc., et al., No.
1:17-cv-04975-AKH; and Cohen & Steers Institutional Realty
Shares, Inc., et al v. American Realty Capital Properties, Inc., et
al., No. 1:18-cv-06770-AKH (collectively, the "Actions", and
such plaintiffs collectively, the "Opt Out Plaintiffs"). The
Opt Out Plaintiffs' claims arose out of the disclosures made by the
Company in October 2014 and
March 2015 regarding its financial
statements, which included the Company's March 2015 restatement of certain of its
previously issued financial statements. Pursuant to the terms of
the Settlement Agreements, the parties have agreed that the Opt Out
Plaintiffs will dismiss all claims against the Company and the
other defendants with prejudice and the Company will pay the Opt
Out Plaintiffs the sum of $42.5
million in connection with the settlement of the
claims. The Settlement Agreements contain mutual releases by
both the Opt Out Plaintiffs and the Company, although the Company
retains the right to pursue any and all claims against the other
defendants in the Actions and/or third parties, including claims
for contribution for amounts paid in the settlement. The
Settlement Agreements do not contain any admission of liability,
wrongdoing or responsibility by any of the parties.
VEREIT is pleased to have brought the Actions to a conclusion.
Including the previously announced settlements with Vanguard
Specialized Funds and other Vanguard funds, and eight additional
opt out plaintiffs, the Company has now settled claims brought by
plaintiffs representing approximately 31 percent of VEREIT's
outstanding shares of common stock and swaps referencing common
stock held at the end of the period covered by the various pending
shareholder actions for a total of $217.5
million.
There can be no assurance as to whether or how these settlements
may affect any potential future resolution of any other pending
lawsuit, the timing of any such resolution, or the amount at which
any other matter may be resolved.
About the Company
VEREIT is a full-service real estate operating company which
owns and manages one of the largest portfolios of single-tenant
commercial properties in the U.S. The Company has a total asset
book value of $14.3 billion including
approximately 4,000 properties and 94.6 million square feet.
VEREIT's business model provides equity capital to creditworthy
corporations in return for long-term leases on their properties.
VEREIT is a publicly traded Maryland corporation listed on the New York
Stock Exchange. Additional information about VEREIT can be found on
its website at www.VEREIT.com and through social media platforms
such as Twitter and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
Information set forth herein contains "forward-looking
statements" (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended), which reflect the Company's expectations
regarding future events. Generally, the words "expects,"
"anticipates," "assumes," "targets," "goals," "projects,"
"intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," variations of
such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements involve a number of
assumptions, risks, uncertainties and other factors which are
difficult to predict, may be beyond the Company's control and that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contained in the forward-looking statements. The following
factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ from
those set forth in the forward-looking statements: risks associated
with pending government investigations and litigations related to
the Company's previously disclosed audit committee investigation;
and the other factors contained in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at the
Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov. The
Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release whether
as a result of changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
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SOURCE VEREIT, Inc.