BEACHWOOD, Ohio, March 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Developers
Diversified Realty Corporation (NYSE: DDR) today announced that it
has acquired its partners' interests in two prime shopping centers
valued at $80 million in the
aggregate and disposed of $43 million
of non-prime assets.
Acquisitions
The Company acquired its partners' 50% ownership interests in
two prime shopping centers for $40
million. As a result of the transactions, the Company now
owns 100% of the two prime shopping centers. The aggregate gross
value of the two centers is $80
million.
The centers, which total 811,157 square feet, are located in
Cleveland and Minneapolis, and benefit from an outstanding
credit tenant lineup, are 98% leased, enjoy strong barriers to
entry and have household incomes which average over $80,000 within a 5-mile radius. Both assets are
large-format power centers with grocery components, with anchors
including Walmart Supercenter, Home Depot, Kohl's, Hobby Lobby,
Cinemark, PetSmart, Cub Foods, Bed Bath & Beyond, Gander
Mountain, Michaels, Petco and Old Navy.
The two existing short duration loans on the centers aggregating
approximately $50 million were repaid
in connection with the Company's acquisition. The previous loans
matured in 2011 and had a blended average interest rate of 5.6%.
The Minneapolis center remains
unencumbered and the Cleveland
center was refinanced with a new 11-year, $21 million mortgage at a fixed rate of 5.7%.
Dispositions
The Company sold six non-prime assets and three land parcels
during the quarter for aggregate proceeds of approximately
$43 million, of which the Company's
share was $20 million. The non-prime
assets sold averaged 79% leased and were predominantly located in
tertiary markets with substandard demographics. An additional
$73 million of non-prime or
non-income producing assets are currently under contract for sale,
of which the Company's share is $72
million.
Mark Bratt, Developers
Diversified's chief investment officer, commented, "We are pleased
to announce these transactions, which are consistent with our
stated strategy to grow our investment in prime assets in order to
increase our long term growth rate and value. We continue to
exercise great discipline on potential investments, but we
identified these two attractive opportunities and believe that
additional acquisitions are available to redeploy the future
proceeds from non-prime dispositions."
About Developers Diversified Realty
Developers Diversified owns and manages approximately 570 retail
operating and development properties in 41 states, Brazil, Canada and Puerto
Rico. Totaling approximately 132 million square feet, the
Company's shopping center portfolio features open-air,
value-oriented neighborhood and community centers, mixed-use
centers and lifestyle centers located in prime markets with stable
populations and high-growth potential. Developers Diversified is
the largest landlord in Puerto
Rico and owns a premier portfolio of regional malls
primarily clustered around Sao Paulo,
Brazil. Developers Diversified is a self-administered and
self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate
company. Additional information about the Company is available on
the Company's website at www.ddr.com.
SOURCE Developers Diversified Realty Corporation