It’s been a tough go for Glenn Rufrano, who is working to convince investors that the firm formerly known as American Realty Capital Properties has a promising future.
He’s got his work cut out for him: Shares in the company, now called Vereit, have dramatically dropped since the REIT revealed that its chief financial officer had intentionally hid accounting errors by overstating the company’s cash flow. Though Rufrano — the company’s new chief executive — has swiftly moved to rebuild the company, Vereit’s shares dropped 12 percent in 2015 and have already fallen by 3.9 percent this year, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Rufrano’s strategy is one of purging and restocking: He’s sold off $1.4 billion in property to pay off the company’s debt and has refilled top positions. Vereit plans to sell another $600 million worth of Red Lobsters and is expected to shed up to $2.2 billion worth of assets by the end of 2016 to reverse the company’s financial predicament.
Still, several investors have lobbed lawsuits at the company over its accounting scandal, which could cost the firm $300 million, the newspaper reported. It may also take some time before investors are ready to trust the REIT again. [WSJ] — Kathryn Brenzel