STELLARTON, NS, Feb. 19, 2013 /CNW/ – Crombie Real Estate Investment
Trust ("Crombie REIT") (TSX: CRR.UN) today announced it will acquire
four retail plaza properties, all located in Alberta, from a third
party for $132 million with closing expected to occur by the end of
February 2013.
Crombie will acquire the following properties: a 143,000 square foot
fully occupied property located in Fort McMurray anchored by a Sobeys
grocery store; a 100,000 square foot 98% occupied property located in
Lethbridge anchored by a Safeway grocery store; a 29,000 square foot
fully occupied property located in Lethbridge anchored by Shoppers Drug
Mart; and a 34,000 square foot 85% occupied property located in
Edmonton anchored by Shoppers Drug Mart and shadow-anchored by a
Crombie owned Sobeys location.
The properties will be purchased using Crombie's revolving credit
facility and the proceeds of the $60 million prospectus unit offering
and related private placement completed December 14, 2012. The
borrowing base and available limit on Crombie's revolving credit
facility will be temporarily increased to a maximum of $285 million
through the pledging of the acquired properties until such time as more
permanent financing is in place, at which time the borrowing base and
limit will be reduced to its existing $200 million level. Crombie will
also assume $10.8 million in mortgages upon closing of the acquisition.
Commenting on the acquisition, Donald E. Clow, FCA, President and Chief
Executive Officer stated: "We are very pleased with these acquisitions
as they align with the continued growth of our portfolio of high
quality grocery and drug anchored shopping centers across Canada.
Growth in western Canada is particularly important to our long term
strategy as these markets are strong and vibrant with an opportunity
for solid cash flow growth."
About Crombie
Crombie is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust
established under, and governed by, the laws of the Province of
Ontario. The trust invests in income-producing retail, office and
mixed-use properties in Canada, with a future growth strategy focused
primarily on the acquisition of retail properties. Crombie currently
owns a portfolio of 169 commercial properties in nine provinces,
comprising approximately 14.0 million square feet of rentable space.
More information about Crombie can be found at www.crombiereit.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the
current expectations of management of Crombie about Crombie's future
results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities.
Wherever possible, words such as "may", "will", "estimate",
"anticipate", "believe", "expect", "intend" and similar expressions
have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These
statements reflect current beliefs and are based on information
currently available to management of Crombie. Forward-looking
statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties. A number of factors, including those discussed in the
2011 annual Management Discussion and Analysis under "Risk Management",
could cause actual results, performance, achievements, prospects or
opportunities to differ materially from the results discussed or
implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be
considered carefully and a reader should not place undue reliance on
the forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the
expectations of management of Crombie will prove to be correct. It is
Crombie's policy not to update these forward-looking statements except
to the extent required by law.
In particular, certain statements in this document discuss Crombie's
anticipated outlook of future events, including statements relating to:
the anticipated refinancing and adjustment to its borrowing base, which
could be impacted by changes in interest rates, the availability of new
mortgage financing on acceptable terms and additional acquisition or
financing activity by Crombie; and, expected cash flow growth which
could be impacted by competition and local market conditions.
Crombie's consolidated financial statements and management's discussion
and analysis for the period ended September 30, 2012 can be found on
Crombie's web site at www.crombiereit.com or on the SEDAR web site for Canadian regulatory filings at www.sedar.com.