Weingarten Realty Investors Announces $271 Million Joint Venture With Hines REIT
November 14 2008 - 12:13PM
PR Newswire (US)
HOUSTON, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Weingarten Realty
Investors (NYSE:WRI) and Hines Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc.
("Hines REIT") announced the formation of a joint venture
transaction in which a subsidiary of Hines REIT will acquire a 70%
interest in a WRI portfolio of 12 high-volume supermarket-anchored
shopping centers. The aggregate transaction price is approximately
$271 million and the transaction will close on multiple dates. The
initial closing occurred on November 13, 2008 and included eight of
the properties for approximately $205 million, and the purchase of
the remaining four properties will be closed upon finalization of
their loan assumptions. The twelve properties consist of 1.5
million square feet and are located in areas across five states
that have very strong demographics with average trade area
populations exceeding 100,000 people and average household income
exceeding $80,000. These centers are anchored by a diversified mix
of leading grocers including Kroger, Randall's (Safeway), H-E-B,
Publix, B.J.'s Wholesale and Harris Teeter. Additional anchors
include Marshall's, Barnes and Noble, Palais Royal and Stein Mart.
The supermarkets in these centers average sales of more than $450
per square foot and the portfolio is more than 96% leased. The
Joint Venture has a commitment from a major life insurance company
to provide a $100 million loan that is expected to close before the
end of the year. WRI provided preferred equity in the amount of
$134 million for the initial closing. The proceeds of the $100
million loan will be used to reduce WRI's preferred equity position
upon closing. WRI will be responsible for the ongoing management
and leasing of the properties and will receive property management,
joint venture management, and leasing fees along with incentive
distributions above certain return hurdles. "WRI is extremely
pleased to become partners with a world-class organization that
also has its deep roots in our wonderful city -- Houston. We
believe this transaction will provide stable and growing returns to
the joint venture while also meeting our objective of recycling
capital and building our assets under management," stated Drew
Alexander, President and CEO of WRI. "We are pleased to acquire an
interest in a portfolio of quality supermarket-anchored shopping
centers in locations with strong demographics," said Charles Hazen,
President and CEO of Hines REIT. "This is our first joint venture
with WRI and we are very pleased with this new relationship." The
Dallas office of HFF represented WRI's interest in structuring the
venture. Hines REIT is a Houston-based public real estate
investment trust sponsored by Hines. Hines REIT commenced
operations in November 2004 and primarily invests in
institutional-quality office properties located in the United
States. Excluding this acquisition, Hines REIT currently owns
interests in 46 properties. These properties consist of 43 office
properties located throughout the United States, one mixed-use
office and retail property in Toronto, Ontario, one industrial
property in Dallas, Texas and an interest in an industrial property
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For additional information about Hines
REIT, please see http://www.hinesreit.com/. Hines is a fully
integrated real estate investment and management firm that has been
investing in real estate and providing acquisition, development,
financing, property management, leasing and disposition services
for over 50 years. With offices in more than 100 cities in 16
countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $25.6
billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in
the world. Access http://www.hines.com/ for more information on
Hines. HFF (NYSE:HF) operates out of 18 offices nationwide and is a
leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets
services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF offers
clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform
including debt placement, investment sales, structured finance,
private equity, note sales and note sale advisory services and
commercial loan servicing. As one of the largest real estate
investment trusts listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Weingarten
Realty (NYSE:WRI) is celebrating its 60th anniversary as a
commercial real estate owner, manager and developer, formed in
1948. Focused on delivering solid returns to shareholders,
Weingarten is actively developing, acquiring, and intensively
managing properties in 23 states that span the United States from
coast-to-coast. The Company's portfolio of 409 properties includes
329 neighborhood and community shopping centers and 80 industrial
properties. Including tenant-owned square footage, the Company's
portfolio currently totals approximately 74 million square feet
under management. Weingarten has one of the most diversified tenant
bases of any major REIT in its sector, with the largest of its
5,400 tenants comprising less than 3% of its rental revenues. To
learn more about the Company's operations and growth strategies,
please visit http://www.weingarten.com/. DATASOURCE: Weingarten
Realty Investors CONTACT: Richard Summers, VP|Director of Investor
Relations of Weingarten Realty Investors, +1-713-866-6050 Web site:
http://www.weingarten.com/ http://www.hinesreit.com/
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