STOCKHOLDERS OK SALE OF LNR CORP.

Byline: Daily News

LNR Property Corp. stockholders overwhelmingly approved a merger Monday under which the half-owner of The Newhall Land and Farming Company will be acquired by a company controlled by a New York-based private investment firm and its partners.

At a meeting in Miami, stockholders voted 102.5 million to 1.6 million in favor of acquisition by Cerberus Capital Management L.P. LNR board Chairman Stuart Miller cast his 90 million votes in favor of the merger.

The sale does not directly affect the daily operation of Newhall Land because Miami-based home builder Lennar Corp., which partnered with LNR to buy the local developer for $990 million last year, retains management control, said Marlee Lauffer, a Newhall Land spokeswoman.

LNR, a commercial property developer spun off from Lennar, oversaw Newhall Land's commercial holdings including the Hyatt Valencia and the Valencia Town Center. The company recently sold the Hyatt for $35 million to Cornerstone Realty Advisors, and was in negotiations to sell up to a 50 percent stake of the Town Center mall to Westfield International, which operates Westfield Shoppingtown centers throughout California and elsewhere.

The company also owns half of the Valencia Water Co.

LNR announced its sale last August to a company formed by Cerberus and affiliate Blackacre Capital Management LLC. Then named Riley Property Holdings LLC, that company has been renamed LNR Property Holdings Ltd.

The sale is expected to be completed this week.

Shares of LNR closed Monday at $63, up 9 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange. As part of the merger, Cerberus will pay $63.10 per outstanding LNR share.