From left, Nicholas Schorsch, CEO of American Realty Capital, and David Fick, managing director of Stifel Nicolaus

A handful of new “blank check” real estate investment trusts seeking to raise billions of dollars from investors in the public markets starting in early 2010 are targeting New York City properties, according to their recent filings. Six public REITs filed prospectuses with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the last two months to raise nearly $4 billion for the acquisition of different types of real estate in limited regions including New York. They are expected to begin the offerings in early 2010. What makes this batch of public REITs unusual from traditional public offerings, experts said, is that they are so-called “blank check” or “blind pool” entities, meaning the new company does not yet own any assets, but instead is seeking to raise capital based on the reputation of the managers and the offering plan. David Fick, managing director of equity research at St. Louis investment firm Stifel Nicolaus, estimated there were about 20 blind pool REITs nationally, which were evidence of a completely new trend. [more]