New York City REIT Inc. NYC said Friday that it will give up its status as a real estate investment trust and become a taxable C corporation, as it plan to expand the scope of its assets and businesses. The owner of commercial real estate in New York City said the pace of recovery of the office segment “remains challenged” in the post-COVID pandemic world, as leasing and occupancy trends have slowed, which has led political, community and business leaders to propose repositioning plans for NYC office assets. “We are excited to expand the scope of NYC beyond Manhattan real estate, which we believe will allow us to diversify our revenue streams and pursue opportunities that may not have been previously available to us,” said Chief Executive Michael Weil. ” The company said by changing its REIT election it can potentially raise additional capital from a broader base of investors. Separately, the company said it approved a 1-for-8 reverse stock split, which will reduce the shares outstanding and in effect multiply the stock price by eight. The stock closed Thursday at $1.94, with a dividend yield of 20.62%. It has plummeted 81.7% year to date, while the SPDR Real Estate Select Sector ETF XLRE has lost 28.1% and the S&P 500 SPX has declined 19.2%.
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