American Realty Capital Properties Inc, the American real estate investment trust, announced that it offered to purchase unlisted Cole Credit Property Trust III Inc. The offer amounted to US$5.7 billion in cash and stock options.

This offer comes after Cole Credit Properties Trust III said it would be purchasing Cole Holdings Corp, its external adviser and then undertake completion of requirements to comply with New York Stock Exchange listing. Should all these come about, the purchase by American Realty would make it one of the largest publicly traded REIT funds in the net-lease market.

Consolidation has become a trend in the market, as net leased properties are becoming increasingly popular with investors in the current low-interest environment. The deal involves tenants paying for maintenance and operational costs, the investment is similar to a bond but having a higher return. One of the biggest consolidation deals was between Cole Credit Property Trust II merged with Spirit Realty Capital Inc.