Kushner Cos pulls out of deal talks to buy Veris

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Veris Residential Inc said on Wednesday Kushner Companies had ended talks to acquire the real estate investment trust, after months of chasing the company with sweetened buyout offers.

Last month, Kushner proposed to pay Veris $18.50 a share and $17.50 a share in two separate offers that were not publicly reported, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters. The bids were rejected for being too low and lacking financing.

"Kushner Companies informed us that it was not interested in proceeding at this time," Veris said in a statement on Wednesday. Kushner, which approached Veris six times last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Its first offer, made in October, was for $16 a share and valued Veris at $4.3 billion including debt.

Kushner Cos has previously said in a public presentation that the Veris board "repeatedly rebuffed proposals" and that Veris directors have "presided over a multi-year record of financial and operational mismanagement."

"We welcomed the opportunity to engage more openly and provide Kushner Companies with critical information so that it could better understand Veris Residential's intrinsic value," Veris said on Wednesday.

"However, due to Kushner Companies' and its stated financing partners' unwillingness to move forward, we have been left with no choice other than to cease further discussions." (Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)