The November 6th announcement of Blackstone’s (BX) take-private acquisition of Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (ROIC) reignited speculation that retail real estate has become a hotbed for M&A activity. Blackstone’s purchase of ROIC comes close on the heels of numerous failed acquisition attempts of Whitestone REIT (WSR), which followed previous successful combinations of Kimco Realty (KIM) with RPT properties and Urstadt Biddle (UBA) with Regency Centers (REG). The obvious question for REIT speculators ...