Following the belief that one private real estate investment trust is better than two, American Realty Capital Properties agreed to acquire the Phoenix-based Cole Real Estate Investments for $6.85 billion.

American Realty, based at 405 Park Avenue and run by Nicholas Schorsch, made the move to eventually become the biggest landlord for single-tenant buildings in the U.S. (No. 1 is California-based Realty Income Corp.) Its offer of 1.0929 common shares valued at $14.59 for every Cole share or $13.82 in cash was 14 percent higher than Cole’s closing price, Bloomberg News reported.

“Far more can be accomplished by these two great companies working together than either one could have hoped to achieve independently,” Schorsch said. The REIT secured $2.75 billion in financing when agreeing to the purchase.

In December, Cole bought the Carnarsie Plaza Shopping Center in Brooklyn for $124 million, as previously reported. Last month, American Realty Capital’s New York Recovery REIT snagged software company Amcom to lease the eighth floor of 256 West 38th Street.  [Bloomberg News] — Mark Maurer