What’s ARCP’s New Name?
The new name comes just days before the company's common stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and in the midst of its battle to burnish its image in the wake of an accounting debacle.
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor
Glenn Rufrano
It’s VEREIT, and it’s chock-full of implication. American Realty Capital Properties Inc. is now VEREIT Inc., and it’s no accident that the pronunciation of the name sounds a lot like a derivative of the English word verity, Latin’s veritas, and the French word vérité–i.e., truth.
The new name, which VEREIT executives describe as a combination of the words veritas and REIT, comes just days before VEREIT’s common stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and in the midst of the real estate operating company’s battle to burnish its image in the wake of an accounting debacle.
It’s been a brutal ride. As Glenn Rufrano, CEO since April, recounted during the company’s first quarter earnings call on May 7, “ARCP was built through a rapid succession of large portfolio deals and company acquisitions. Accounting issues, which came to light in October of last year, resulted in a change of senior leadership, credit downgrades and suspensions of selling agreements with broker-dealers and clearing firms who do business with [ARCP’s investment management arm] Cole Capital. Essentially, these all impacted the company’s operating credibility. As was necessary, the board took swift and decisive action in response to these events.”
It has been a veritable firestorm, featuring ratings downgrades, replacements, resignations, investigations, a defamation lawsuit, a tangential lawsuit and the restatement of earnings accompanied by the requisite mea culpa. And now: the blueprint for rebirth, starting with the new name.
“Changing the name of the company was high on my list of priorities as we work towards establishing a new business foundation and organizational culture,” Rufrano, said in a prepared statement. “VEREIT is the perfect name as it succinctly represents a commitment to serve our tenants, business partners, investors and employees through discipline, transparency and consistency.”
If the real estate industry is as forgiving of the former ARCP as the public is of disgraced celebs, then the company may very well be able to complete a successful comeback.
As for details of VEREIT’s new business plan, the big reveal is on tap for the second quarter earnings call on Aug. 6.
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