2021 Special Proxy Statement

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(a) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Filed by the Registrant ☒

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant □

Check the appropriate box:

• Preliminary Proxy Statement
• Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

• Definitive Proxy Statement

• Definitive Additional Materials
• Soliciting Material Pursuant to Section 240.14a-12

Columbia Property Trust, Inc.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

• No fee required.
• Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
• 1. Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:
  2. Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:
  3. Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):
  4. Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:
  5. Total fee paid:

• Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

• Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.
• 1. Amount Previously Paid:
  2. Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
  3. Filing Party:

1. Date Filed:

315 Park Avenue South

New York, New York 10010

October 26, 2021

Dear Fellow Stockholder,

You are cordially invited to attend a special meeting of stockholders of Columbia Property Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation (''Columbia''), to be held on December 2, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., New York time, at 315 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10010. At the special meeting, you will be asked to consider and vote on the merger of Panther Merger Parent, Inc. (''Parent''), an affiliate of certain investment funds managed by Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (the ''PIMCO Funds'') with and into Columbia, which we refer to as the merger, pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 7, 2021, and as it may be amended from time to time, among Columbia, Columbia Property Trust Operating Partnership, L.P., Parent and Panther Merger Sub, LLC, an affiliate of the PIMCO Funds, which we refer to as the merger agreement. If the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement are completed, you, as a holder of shares of common stock of Columbia, will be entitled to receive $19.30 in cash in exchange for each share of common stock you own, as more fully described in the enclosed proxy statement.

Our board of directors has unanimously approved the merger agreement and declared the merger agreement and the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement, including the merger, to be advisable and in the best interests of Columbia and our stockholders. Our board of directors recommend that you vote ''FOR'' the approval of the merger.

The merger must be approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of shares of common stock entitled to cast a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. The notice of special meeting and proxy statement accompanying this letter provide you with more specific information concerning the special meeting, the merger, the merger agreement and the other transactions contemplated by the merger agreement. We encourage you to read carefully the enclosed proxy statement, including the annexes. You may also obtain more information about Columbia from us or from documents we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (''SEC''). Please note that as part of our precautions regarding the coronavirus or Covid-19, we may determine that the special meeting be held solely by means of remote communication rather than in person. If we take this step, we will announce the decision to do so in advance and provide details on how record holders of our common stock may attend virtually and participate in the special meeting via a press release issued by Columbia and made available on our website, www.columbia.reit. We will also file the press release with the SEC as definitive additional solicitation material.

Your vote is very important regardless of the number of shares of common stock that you own. Whether or not you plan to attend the special meeting in person, or in the event the special meeting is held by means of remote communication, virtually, we request that you authorize a proxy to vote your shares by either completing and returning the enclosed proxy card as promptly as possible or authorizing your proxy or voting instructions by telephone or through the Internet. The enclosed proxy card contains instructions regarding voting. If you attend the special meeting, you may continue to have your shares voted as instructed in your proxy, or you may withdraw your proxy at the special meeting and vote your shares in person, or, in the event that the special meeting is held by means of remote communication, virtually. If you fail to vote by proxy or in person, or, in the event that the special meeting is held by means of remote communication, virtually, or fail to instruct your broker on how to vote, it will have the same effect as a vote ''AGAINST'' approval of the merger.

On behalf of the board of directors, thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Constance Moore	Nelson Mills
Chair of the Board of Directors	Director, President and CEO

This proxy statement is dated October 26, 2021, and is first being mailed to our stockholders on or about October 26, 2021.

COLUMBIA PROPERTY TRUST, INC.

NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

TO BE HELD ON DECEMBER 2, 2021

To the Stockholders of Columbia Property Trust, Inc.:

You are cordially invited to attend a special meeting of stockholders of Columbia Property Trust, Inc. (''Columbia''), a Maryland corporation, to be held on December 2, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., New York time, at 315 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10010. As part of our precautions regarding the coronavirus or Covid-19, we may determine that the special meeting be held solely by means of remote communication rather than in person. If we take this step, we will announce the decision to do so in advance and provide details on how record holders of our common stock may attend virtually and participate in the special meeting via a press release issued by Columbia and made available on our website, www.columbia.reit. We will also file the press release with the Securities and Exchange Commission as definitive additional solicitation material.

The special meeting is being held for the purpose of acting on the following matters:

1. To consider and vote on a proposal to approve the merger (the ''merger'') of Panther Merger Parent, Inc. (''Parent'') with and into Columbia pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 7, 2021, (the ''merger agreement'') and as it may be amended from time to time, among Columbia, Columbia Property Trust Operating Partnership, L.P., Parent and Panther Merger Sub, LLC;
2. To consider and vote on a proposal to approve, on a non-binding, advisory basis, the compensation that may be paid or become payable to our named executive officers that is based on or otherwise relates to the merger; and
3. To consider and vote on a proposal to approve any adjournment of the special meeting for the purpose of soliciting additional proxies if there are not sufficient votes at the special meeting to approve the merger.

The foregoing items of business are more fully described in the attached proxy statement, which forms a part of this notice and is incorporated herein by reference. Pursuant to our bylaws, only the matters set forth in this Notice of Special Meeting may be brought before the special meeting. Our board of directors has fixed the close of business on October 21, 2021, as the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the special meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof. All holders of record of our shares of common stock as of the record date are entitled to receive notice of and attend the special meeting or any postponement or adjournment of the special meeting.

Our board of directors has unanimously approved the merger agreement and declared the merger agreement and the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement, including the merger, to be advisable and in the best interests of Columbia and our stockholders. Our board of directors recommends that you vote ''FOR'' the proposal to approve the merger, ''FOR'' the proposal to approve, on a non-binding, advisory basis, the compensation that may be paid or become payable to our named executive officers that is based on or otherwise relates to the merger, and ''FOR'' the proposal to approve any adjournment of the special meeting for the purpose of soliciting additional proxies if there are not sufficient votes at the special meeting to approve the merger.

The merger must be approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of shares of common stock entitled to cast a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Accordingly, your vote is very important regardless of the number of shares of common stock that you own. Whether or not you plan to attend the special meeting in person, or in the event the special meeting is held by means of remote communication, virtually, we request that you authorize a proxy to vote your shares by either marking, signing, dating and promptly returning the enclosed proxy card in the postage-paid envelope or authorizing your proxy or voting instructions by telephone or through the Internet. If you attend the special meeting, you may continue to have your shares voted as instructed in your proxy, or you may withdraw your proxy at the special meeting and vote your shares in person, or, in the event that the special meeting is held by means of remote communication, virtually, by following the procedures outlined in the attached proxy statement or, if the special meeting is held virtually, in the press release issued by Columbia. If you fail to vote by proxy or in person, or, in the event that the special meeting is held by means of remote communication, virtually, or fail to instruct your broker, bank or other nominee on how to vote, the effect will be that the shares of common stock that you own will not be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the special meeting and will have the same effect as a vote ''AGAINST'' the proposal to approve the merger.

The approval of the proposal regarding the non-binding, advisory vote on the compensation that may be paid or become payable to our named executive officers that is based on or otherwise relates to the merger, and the approval of the proposal regarding any adjournment of the special meeting for the purpose of soliciting additional proxies if there are not sufficient votes at the special meeting to approve the merger, each requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the proposal. If you fail to vote by proxy or in person, or, in the event that the special meeting is held by means of remote communication, virtually, or fail to instruct your broker on how to vote, it will have no effect on the outcome of such proposals. Abstentions, while present for purposes of determining presence of a quorum, are not considered votes cast and therefore will have no other effect on the outcome of these proposals.

Any proxy may be revoked at any time prior to its exercise by voting again over the Internet or by telephone prior to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 1, 2021, signing and returning another proxy card with a later date, provided we receive the updated proxy card before the date of the special meeting, or voting in person at the special meeting, or, in the event that the special meeting is held by means of remote communication, virtually. Attendance alone will not be sufficient to revoke a previously authorized proxy.

Holders of our shares of common stock may not exercise any appraisal rights, dissenters' rights or the rights of an objecting stockholder to receive the fair value of the stockholder's shares of common stock in connection with the merger because, as permitted by the Maryland General Corporation Law, our charter provides that stockholders are not entitled to exercise such rights, unless our board of directors, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the entire board, determines that the rights apply. Our board of directors has made no such determination.

We encourage you to read the accompanying proxy statement in its entirety and to submit a proxy or voting instructions so that your shares of common stock will be represented and voted even if you do not attend the special meeting. If you have any questions or need assistance in submitting a proxy or your voting instructions, please call our proxy solicitor, Innisfree M&A Incorporated, toll-free at 877-825-8971.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Debbie Newmark

Corporate Secretary

New York, New York

October 26, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS
	Page
SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	1
The Parties to the Mergers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	1
The Special Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	2
The Mergers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	3
Recommendation of Our Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	4
Opinion of Our Financial Advisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	4
Treatment of Interests in Company OP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	5
Certain Dividends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	5
Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	6
Interests of Our Directors and Executive Officers in the Mergers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7
Restriction on Solicitation of Company Takeover Proposals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7
Conditions to the Mergers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7
Termination of the Merger Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8
Termination Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	9
Guaranty and Remedies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10
Regulatory Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10
Related Sale Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10
No Dissenters' Rights of Appraisal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11
Delisting and Deregistration of Our Common Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11
Market Price of Our Common Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	11
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE SPECIAL MEETING AND THE MERGERS . . . . . . . . . .	12
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	18
PROPOSAL 1 PROPOSAL TO APPROVE THE MERGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	20
PROPOSAL 2 PROPOSAL TO APPROVE THE MERGER-RELATED COMPENSATION . . . . . . . . . . . .	21
PROPOSAL 3 PROPOSAL TO APPROVE ADJOURNMENT OF THE MEETING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	22
THE PARTIES TO THE MERGERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	23
Columbia Property Trust, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	23
Columbia Property Trust Operating Partnership, L.P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	23
Panther Merger Parent, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	23
Panther Merger Sub, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	24
THE SPECIAL MEETING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	25
Date, Time and Purpose of the Special Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	25
Record Date, Notice and Quorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	25
Required Vote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	25
How to Authorize a Proxy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	26
Proxies and Revocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	27
Solicitation of Proxies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	27
Adjournments and Postponements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	27
THE MERGERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	28
General Description of the Mergers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	28
Background of the Mergers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	28
Reasons for the Mergers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	35
Recommendation of the Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	38
Certain Unaudited Financial Projections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	38
Opinion of Our Financial Advisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	40
Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	48
Interests of Our Directors and Executive Officers in the Mergers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	51
Regulatory Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	55

i