UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

Current Report
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 16, 2021

MONMOUTH REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Maryland		001-33177		22-1897375
(State or other jurisdiction of Incorporation)		(Commission File Number)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)

101 Crawfords Corner Road, Suite 1405 Holmdel, NJ		07733
(Address of principal executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code) (732) 577-9996

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instructions A.2. below):

☒	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock	MNR	New York Stock Exchange
6.125% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	MNR-PC	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 8.01

Other Events.

On August 16, 2021, Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation (“Monmouth”), a Maryland corporation, and Equity Commonwealth (“EQC”), a Maryland real estate investment trust, issued a joint press release announcing that they have entered into an amendment to the definitive agreement and plan of merger (as amended, the “Merger Agreement”) between the two companies. A copy of the joint press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated by reference herein.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication is not intended to and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, sell or solicit any securities or any proxy, vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to or in connection with the proposed merger or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be deemed to be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed merger, EQC has filed a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC, which became effective on July 23, 2021, to register the common shares of beneficial interest of EQC to be issued pursuant to the merger. The registration statement includes a joint proxy statement/prospectus which has been filed by EQC and Monmouth with the SEC and has been sent to the common shareholders of EQC seeking their approval of the share issuance and to the common shareholders of Monmouth seeking their approval of the merger (the “joint proxy statement/prospectus”). EQC and Monmouth intend to file with the SEC and send to their respective common shareholders an amendment to the joint proxy statement/prospectus describing the amended terms of the merger. EQC and Monmouth may also file other documents regarding the proposed merger and share issuance with the SEC. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO CAREFULLY READ THE ENTIRE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED MERGER AND SHARE ISSUANCE. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the registration statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by EQC or Monmouth through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the registration statement and the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by EQC on EQC’s website at ir.eqcre.com and may obtain free copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by Monmouth on Monmouth’s website at www.mreic.reit.

Participants in the Solicitation

EQC and certain of its trustees and executive officers and Monmouth and certain of its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from EQC’s shareholders and from Monmouth’s shareholders in connection with the proposed merger and share issuance under the rules of the SEC. Investors may obtain information regarding the names, affiliations and interests of the trustees and executive officers of EQC and the directors and executive officers of Monmouth in the registration statement on Form S-4, the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials filed with the SEC by EQC or Monmouth regarding the proposed merger and share issuance. You may obtain free copies of these documents at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of documents filed with the SEC will also be available free of charge from EQC or Monmouth using the source indicated above.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements regarding consummating the merger and the timing thereof. Any forward-looking statements contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K are intended to be made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters. You can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K reflect Monmouth’s current views about future events and are subject to numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances regarding EQC and Monmouth that may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement, including, without limitation, (i) inability to complete the proposed merger because, among other reasons, one or more conditions to the closing of the proposed merger may not be satisfied or waived; (ii) uncertainty as to the timing of completion of the proposed merger; (iii) potential adverse effects or changes to relationships with EQC’s and/or Monmouth’s tenants, employees, service providers or other parties resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed merger; (iv) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the parties and others related to the Merger Agreement; (v) possible disruptions from the proposed merger that could harm EQC’s or Monmouth’s respective business, including current plans and operations; (vi) unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from the proposed merger; (vii) uncertainty of the expected financial performance of EQC following completion of the proposed merger, including the possibility that the benefits anticipated from the proposed merger will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; (viii) legislative, regulatory and economic developments; and (ix) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism, outbreak of war or hostilities and epidemics and pandemics, including COVID-19, as well as EQC’s or Monmouth’s management’s response to any of the aforementioned factors. Monmouth does not guarantee that the mergers and events described will happen as described (or that they will happen at all). For a further discussion of other factors that could cause Monmouth’s future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Monmouth’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for subsequent quarters.

While forward-looking statements reflect Monmouth’s good faith beliefs, they are not guarantees of future performance. Monmouth disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes.

Item 9.01.

Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description

99.1	Press Release dated August 16, 2021.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation

Dated: August 16, 2021	By:	/s/ Kevin S. Miller
		Kevin S. Miller
		Chief Financial Officer, its principal financial officer and principal accounting officer

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation filed SEC Form 8-K: Other Events, Financial Statements and Exhibits