Appoints Three New Independent Directors and
Forms Capital Allocation Committee
Enters into a Cooperation Agreement with Land
& Buildings
American Campus Communities, Inc. (NYSE:ACC) (“ACC” or the
“Company”), the largest owner and manager of high-quality student
housing properties in the U.S., today announced the appointment of
Herman Bulls, Alison Hill and Craig Leupold to the Company’s Board
of Directors, effective immediately. The Company also announced
that Edward Lowenthal is retiring from the Board at the 2021 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) and Carla Piñeyro
Sublett is stepping down from the Board, effective immediately,
after accepting an exciting new career opportunity. As such, the
ACC Board will temporarily increase to 11 directors and then reduce
to 10 directors following the Annual Meeting. Upon Mr. Lowenthal’s
retirement, Ms. Cydney Donnell will be appointed as the new Chair
of the Board.
“I am proud of the Company’s accomplishments and track record of
value creation during my 16 years on the board, having grown its
portfolio from 16 properties at its IPO to the industry leader with
166 owned properties today, while generating a total shareholder
return of approximately 400%. Continued Board refreshment reflects
ACC’s commitment to ensuring the best possible mix of qualified
directors to oversee the Company as it continues to drive growth
and shareholder value creation,” said Mr. Lowenthal. “The new
directors we have identified bring fresh perspectives that will be
invaluable as management executes the Company’s strategic plan and
capitalizes on the opportunities before it. ACC has an outstanding
portfolio of student housing, a proven strategy, and a talented
team that position it for continued growth and success in the years
ahead. I look forward to working with our new directors over the
next few months to ensure a seamless transition.”
“In Alison, Craig and Herman, the Company has identified three
outstanding independent directors who bring extensive real estate
and capital allocation experience,” said Bill Bayless, American
Campus Communities CEO. “On behalf of the entire Board, I’d like to
thank Ed and Carla for their service and the role they have played
in the Company’s success. We are grateful for Ed’s years of service
to the Board, including five as Chair, and his tireless dedication
to advancing our company for the benefit of all our stakeholders.
We also appreciate Carla’s significant contributions and wish her
the best in her new role.”
To take full advantage of the directors’ experience and
expertise, the Board is forming a Capital Allocation Committee
comprised of four independent directors, who initially will be Mr.
Leupold, who will serve as Chair, Ms. Hill, Ms. Donnell and John T.
Rippel. The Committee will serve as an advisory group to the full
Board, helping to evaluate capital allocation strategy and
priorities to further improve investment strategies, net asset
value creation and the quality of earnings growth.
The Company’s current board refreshment initiative followed
constructive discussions that ACC has held with Land &
Buildings Investment Management, LLC (“Land & Buildings”). ACC
has entered into a cooperation agreement with Land & Buildings
under which Land & Buildings will vote its shares in favor of
all of the ACC Board’s director nominees.
Jonathan Litt, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Land
& Buildings, said, “We are pleased with the collaborative and
constructive discussions we’ve had with the ACC Board and
management team regarding capital allocation, company strategy, and
board composition among other topics. We believe the new directors
will be immediately additive to the Board, and I am particularly
excited by the appointment of Cydney Donnell as Chairwoman. Cydney
is an accomplished professional and served as a mentor to me when I
entered the real estate business 30 years ago. We remain confident
in the ability of the student housing industry to fully recover
from the pandemic and in ACC’s refreshed Board to create
substantial value for its shareholders.”
BofA Securities is serving as financial advisor and Dentons US
LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Company.
About Herman Bulls
Mr. Bulls currently serves as Vice Chairman, Americas, at JLL,
as well as an International Director and the founder of JLL's
Public Institutions Business Unit. During over 31 years at JLL, Mr.
Bulls has worked in the areas of development, investment
management, asset management, facilities operations and business
development/retention. Mr. Bulls previously co-founded and served
as President and CEO of Bulls Capital Partners, a Fannie Mae
multi-family financing company, and founded Bulls Advisory Group,
LLC, a management and real estate advisory firm. Prior to joining
JLL, Mr. Bulls completed almost 12 years of active duty service
with the United States Army. His last active duty assignments were
working in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Financial Management at the Pentagon and as an Assistant Professor
of Economics and Finance at West Point. He has completed the Army's
Airborne, Ranger and Command and General Staff College courses and
served overseas in the Republic of Korea. He retired as a Colonel
in the U.S. Army Reserves in 2008.
He is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, Leadership
Washington and the Real Estate Executive Council. Mr. Bulls is also
a founding member and served as the inaugural President of the
African American Real Estate Professionals of Washington, D.C. and
serves as Vice Chairman of the University Development Innovation
Council of the Urban Land Institute. He currently serves as a
director of Comfort Systems, USA, Collegis Education and USAA and
is a member of the Real Estate Advisory Committee for New York
State Teachers' Retirement System. Mr. Bulls previously served on
the boards of Tyco International, Exelis, Inc., Rasmussen College,
Inc. and Computer Sciences Corporation. He also serves on the
American Red Cross National Board of Governors.
Under the Obama administration Mr. Bulls was selected by the
Secretary of Veteran Affairs to serve as a member of the MyVA
Advisory Committee, whose mission was to advise the Secretary on
the modernization of VA's culture, processes, and capabilities in
order to put the needs, expectations, and interests of Veterans and
beneficiaries first. Mr. Bulls is a board member of the West Point
Association of Graduates where he previously served as Vice
Chairman and the Military Bowl Foundation, an NCAA sanctioned
football bowl game played in the nation's capital each December.
Mr. Bulls' community board service has included the Friends and
Family Board for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts, and he served as former Chairman of the Fannie Mae National
Housing Advisory Council.
He received a BS degree in engineering from the United States
Military Academy at West Point and an MBA in finance from Harvard
Business School.
About Alison Hill
Ms. Hill currently serves as Managing Director, Strategic
Capital at Prologis, where she is responsible for the formation,
structuring and operations of Prologis’ co-investment ventures
globally. She joined AMB Property Corporation in 1999 and served in
a variety of positions within the private capital business, helping
to expand the private capital business outside the U.S. Since AMB’s
merger with Prologis in 2011, Ms. Hill has been integral in growing
and streamlining Prologis’ strategic capital business. She is a
member of the Prologis’ Americas and Europe Investment
Committee.
Before joining AMB, Ms. Hill practiced real estate law at the
global law firm of Morrison & Foerster. Prior to that, she
practiced law with Lionel Sawyer & Collins within the real
estate and commercial transactions groups.
Ms. Hill serves on the board of The SWIG Company, a San
Francisco based privately owned real estate investor and operator,
and GirlVentures, a San Francisco-Bay area based non-profit that
inspires girls to lead through outdoor adventure, inner discovery
and collective action.
Ms. Hill holds a J.D., cum laude, from Case Western Reserve
University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in
international relations from Hamilton College where she is now a
member of the board of trustees.
About Craig Leupold
Mr. Leupold currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of GSI
Capital Advisors, an investment manager focused on investment
opportunities in publicly traded real estate securities, primarily
REITs. Previously, he was with Green Street Advisors, Inc., a
commercial real estate, news, data, analytics and advisory services
firm, for over 26 years, serving as its President and Chief
Executive Officer for 13 years. Prior to Green Street Advisors, Mr.
Leupold worked as a real estate consultant at Kenneth Leventhal and
Company and as a commercial real estate lender at Union Bank of
California.
He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Science from the
University of California, San Diego and an MBA in Finance and Real
Estate from Columbia Business School.
About American Campus Communities
American Campus Communities, Inc. is the largest owner, manager
and developer of high-quality student housing communities in the
United States. The company is a fully integrated, self-managed and
self-administered equity real estate investment trust (REIT) with
expertise in the design, finance, development, construction
management and operational management of student housing
properties. As of September 30, 2020, American Campus Communities
owned 166 student housing properties containing approximately
111,900 beds. Including its owned and third-party managed
properties, ACC's total managed portfolio consisted of 204
properties with approximately 139,900 beds. Visit
www.americancampus.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical information, this press release
contains forward-looking statements under the applicable federal
securities law. These statements are based on management’s current
expectations and assumptions regarding markets in which American
Campus Communities, Inc. (the “Company”) operates, operational
strategies, anticipated events and trends, the economy, and other
future conditions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties,
which are difficult to predict. These risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in the forward looking-statements include
those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, about which there are still
many unknowns, including the duration of the pandemic and the
extent of its impact, and those discussed in the Company’s filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 under the
heading “Risk Factors” and under the heading “Business -
Forward-looking Statements” and subsequent quarterly reports on
Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210127005992/en/
Investors
Ryan Dennison American Campus Communities (512) 732-1053
Media
Andrew Siegel / Greg Klassen Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer
Katcher (212) 355-4449
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