City Office REIT, Inc. (CIO): Marketing Mix Analysis [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking for a clear-eyed view of City Office REIT, Inc.'s (CIO) marketing mix right now, and honestly, the pending merger is the biggest factor shaping these four P's. As an analyst who's seen a few cycles, I can tell you that looking at their Product-5.4 million net rentable square feet focused on Sun Belt offices-or their Price-the $7.00 per share all-cash buyout-tells a different story than usual. Let's cut through the noise and see exactly how the impending transaction redefines their Place strategy and what that means for their current Promotion focus, especially with portfolio occupancy sitting at 82.5% as of June 30, 2025. Keep reading; this isn't your typical portfolio review.

City Office REIT, Inc. (CIO) - Marketing Mix: Product

You're looking at the physical offering of City Office REIT, Inc. (CIO), which is its portfolio of office real estate assets. The product here isn't something you buy off a shelf; it's the space and the environment you lease. City Office REIT, Inc. focuses on providing high-quality office properties, which, as of the second quarter of 2025, totaled 5.4 million net rentable square feet.

The core of the product strategy is geographic concentration. City Office REIT, Inc.'s focus is squarely on office space within high-growth Sun Belt markets. This selection is deliberate, targeting metropolitan areas that have seen favorable demographic trends and corporate relocations. For instance, as of September 30, 2025, the portfolio included 16 properties across markets such as Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, San Diego, Seattle, and Tampa.

City Office REIT, Inc. actively manages the composition of its product through strategic redevelopment. A key example is the strategic redevelopment of non-core assets, specifically the City Center property in St. Petersburg, Florida. The company entered an agreement with Property Markets Group (PMG) to redevelop the existing standalone parking garage into a planned 49-story residential condominium and mixed-use tower. City Office REIT, Inc.'s contribution to this partnership is land, which would provide a 50% interest, while PMG is investing $17 million of cash for its corresponding 50% membership interest.

The current utilization of the product is tracked closely via occupancy metrics. As of June 30, 2025, the portfolio occupancy was 82.5% in-place. If you factor in signed leases that had not yet commenced occupancy, the figure rose to 86.8%. This focus on leasing momentum is supported by recent capital deployment. City Office REIT, Inc. is making an investment in ready-to-lease spec suites and common area enhancements to improve the overall tenant experience and win greater leasing market share.

To give you a clearer picture of the leasing activity that defines the product's current performance, here are the details from the second quarter of 2025:

The product enhancement strategy involves targeted improvements across the portfolio, which includes specific assets showing strong performance as of the third quarter of 2025:

• Strategic property and common area enhancements to optimally position the portfolio.
• Investment in ready-to-lease spec suites and vacancy conditioning.
• Park Tower in Tampa achieved an occupancy of 93.9%.
• Bloc 83 in Raleigh achieved an occupancy of 94.6%.
• The portfolio was approximately 84.5% leased as of September 30, 2025, across approximately 4.2 million square feet.

The product is the space, and the quality of that space dictates the rent you can command. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

City Office REIT, Inc. (CIO) - Marketing Mix: Place

City Office REIT, Inc.'s distribution strategy centers on the physical location and management of its office property assets, which are concentrated across key Southern and Western U.S. metropolitan areas.

The portfolio, as of the second quarter ended June 30, 2025, contained 5.4 million net rentable square feet of office property. This real estate inventory is strategically positioned within high-growth Sun Belt markets, which the company cites for nation-leading employment and population growth trends.

The primary markets for City Office REIT, Inc.'s property holdings include:

• Dallas, TX
• Denver, CO
• Orlando, FL
• Raleigh, NC
• San Diego, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Tampa, FL

The distribution strategy involved an active disposition of non-core assets in 2025, specifically the Phoenix Portfolio, as a condition of the pending merger agreement valued at approximately $1.1 billion.

The U.S. corporate headquarters, which serves as the main operational hub, is located in Dallas, Texas. The specific address for the Dallas Office is Suite 2960 - 500 North Akard Street Dallas, TX 75201.

The portfolio concentration across these select metropolitan areas is a key element of City Office REIT, Inc.'s place strategy, aiming for accessibility within robust growth markets. The disposition activity reflects a tactical adjustment to the portfolio footprint ahead of the expected fourth quarter 2025 closing of the merger.

City Office REIT, Inc. (CIO) - Marketing Mix: Promotion

For City Office REIT, Inc. (CIO) in late 2025, the promotion strategy was overwhelmingly dominated by communications surrounding the pending acquisition, effectively making investor relations the primary promotional channel.

Primary focus shifted to investor relations and merger communications in late 2025.

• Definitive merger agreement announced on July 24, 2025.
• Stockholders approved the merger on October 16, 2025.
• Transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion, including debt repayment.
• Common stockholders are set to receive $7.00 per share in cash.
• Preferred stockholders are set to receive $25.00 per share plus accrued distributions.
• The transaction price represented a 26% premium to the closing share price prior to announcement.
• The expected closing for the Merger was the fourth quarter of 2025.

The communication around the portfolio disposition was also a key promotional element supporting the merger closing conditions. City Office REIT, Inc. completed the sale of six Phoenix office properties in August 2025 for $266 million.

Regular investor presentations and SEC filings to communicate financial health and strategy.

The company used mandatory filings to convey its status amidst the transaction. The Form 10-Q for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, filed on November 7, 2025, detailed the portfolio reduction following the Phoenix sale, showing ownership of 16 properties totaling 4.2 million sq. ft., with a leased rate of 84.5%.

Key financial metrics communicated via these filings included:

Furthermore, a significant non-recurring charge was reported: an impairment charge of $102.2 million recognized in 2025 related to the Phoenix Portfolio write-down.

Quarterly earnings conference calls, such as Q2 2025 results on July 31, 2025.

Due to the pending Merger, City Office REIT, Inc. did not host a conference call to discuss its Q2 2025 results, which were released on July 31, 2025. Instead, management directed investors to a supplemental financial information package posted on www.cioreit.com. The Q2 results showed Rental and other revenues of $42.3 million and Core FFO of approximately $11.8 million, or $0.28 per fully diluted share.

The leasing activity reported for Q2 2025, which serves as a proxy for operational promotion effectiveness prior to the merger announcement, included:

• Total leasing activity: approximately 355,000 square feet.
• New leasing executed: 163,000 square feet.
• Renewal leasing executed: 192,000 square feet.
• New leases weighted average effective annual rent: $31.45 per square foot.
• Renewal leases weighted average effective annual rent: $33.02 per square foot.

Leasing promotion driven by strategic property upgrades and amenity renovations.

While the merger dominated late-year focus, earlier in 2025, leasing promotion was tied to property enhancements. For the first quarter of 2025, the company noted a healthy 8.5% cash re-leasing spread over the trailing twelve months, which management expected would be positively catalyzed by recent strategic property upgrades. The Same Store Cash NOI for Q1 2025 increased 4.4% compared to Q1 2024. Specific leasing successes cited included an agreement to redevelop the standalone parking garage at the City Center property in St. Petersburg after quarter-end March 31, 2025.

Leasing metrics for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, showed the weighted average effective rent on new and renewal leases executed during Q3 2025 was $42.13 per square foot.

City Office REIT, Inc. (CIO) - Marketing Mix: Price

You're looking at the pricing structure for City Office REIT, Inc. (CIO) as of late 2025, which is heavily influenced by the pending acquisition. This isn't about setting shelf prices; it's about the final valuation and the rental rates that define the asset's worth leading up to that event.

The most definitive pricing element is the exit price for common stockholders. The definitive merger agreement sets the common stock buyout price at $7.00 per share in cash. This transaction, valued at approximately $1.1 billion, represents the final cash consideration for the equity holders.

Rental pricing, which reflects the perceived value of the underlying product-office space-shows a healthy premium for retaining existing tenants over attracting new ones in the second quarter of 2025.

The spread between renewal and new leasing rates is a key indicator of pricing power in the current market environment. Specifically, renewal leases in Q2 2025 averaged $33.02 per square foot, while new leases averaged $31.45 per square foot.

Regarding shareholder returns, the pricing mechanism for equity holders shifted dramatically following the merger announcement in July 2025. Common stock dividend payments were suspended following the merger announcement in July 2025. This suspension is a direct consequence of the agreed-upon cash buyout price.

For a snapshot of operational cash flow pricing power during the quarter preceding the announcement, the company reported the following:

• Q2 2025 Core FFO was approximately $11.8 million.
• Core FFO per fully diluted share was approximately $0.28.
• The Series A Preferred Stock dividend rate remains fixed at 6.625% per share.

The terms of the acquisition also set a specific price for preferred shareholders; holders of the 6.625% Series A Cumulative Preferred Stock will receive $25.00 per share, plus all accrued and unpaid distributions at the transaction close.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.