Spirit Finance downgraded on acquisition

NEW YORK --A Banc of America Securities analyst downgraded Spirit Finance Corp. on Wednesday, a day after the real estate investment trust agreed to be acquired.

On Tuesday Spirit Finance said it accepted a takeover offer from a consortium led by Macquarie Bank Ltd. for about $1.6 billion in cash, or $14.50 per share.

The transaction is worth around $3.5 billion, including roughly $1.9 billion in debt.

Analyst Ross Nussbaum lowered his rating on Spirit Finance to "Neutral" from "Buy." Nussbaum said the deal is only a modest near-term positive for other companies in his portfolio, including Realty Income Corp. and National Retail Properties Inc.

"While there may be an additional 10 percent upside to the shares in a merger and acquisition scenario, they are already fairly priced at the current level," he wrote in a client note.

Shares of Spirit Finance gained 3 cents at $14.54 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. They rose as high as $14.84 earlier in the session.