Why Do Real Estate Master Limited Partnerships Seem to be Undervalued?

This study investigates one reason why real estate master limited partnerships (MLPs) are undervalued. The study finds that parents of MLPs, generally, and parents of non-real estate MLPs experience positive stock price increases when creating MLPs in the same business as the parent firm and insignificant price increases otherwise. Parents of real estate MLPs experience insignificant stock price changes whether or not the MLP is in the same business as the parent firm. However, despite insignificance, we find evidence that real estate parents forming real estate MLPs may experience greater stock price appreciation than non-real estate parents creating real estate MLPs.