Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust (BSPRT), a publicly registered, nonlisted REIT, and Capstead Mortgage Corp. have entered into a definitive merger agreement.
The combined company, to be called Franklin BSP Realty Trust post-close, will transition the capital base of Capstead, a residential mortgage REIT, into commercial mortgage loans where BSPRT is focused. BSPRT’s external manager, Benefit Street Partners (BSP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, will manage the combined company following the completion of the transaction.
Upon closing the transaction, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2021, the combined company will become the fourth-largest commercial mortgage REIT, with nearly $2 billion of pro forma equity, and its common stock will trade on the NYSE under the new ticker symbol FBRT.