/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN
THE UNITED STATES/
STELLARTON, NS, April 10, 2012 /CNW/ – Crombie Real Estate Investment
Trust ("Crombie") (TSX: CRR.UN) announced today that it has completed
the previously announced purchase of a portfolio of 22 retail
properties (the "Properties") from third party vendors for $254.6
million (the "Purchase Price"), excluding closing adjustments and
transaction costs. The Properties include a total gross leasable area
of approximately 850,000 square feet, and with the exception of two
assets located in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, all of the Properties are
located in Ontario.
"With the completion of this transaction, the REIT has added to its
portfolio of high quality assets across Canada and, importantly,
increased our geographic diversification, particularly in Ontario."
commented Donald Clow FCA, Crombie's President and Chief Executive
Officer. "The REIT's acquisition of these high quality assets is
anticipated to be accretive to Crombie's Adjusted Funds From Operations
("AFFO") per unit."
The Purchase Price was funded in part through the assumption of $95.7
million in existing mortgages on the Properties with a weighted average
term to maturity of 3.8 years and a weighted average interest rate of
4.86% and by applying $116.9 million of net proceeds from Crombie's
recently completed public offering of Units and concurrent private
placement of exchangeable LP Units. The balance of the Purchase Price
and closing adjustments and transaction costs was drawn from Crombie's
existing revolving line of credit. Crombie may arrange additional
mortgage financing for certain of the properties, which would reduce
the required borrowings under its existing line of credit.
Non-IFRS Measures
Certain terms used in this press release, such as AFFO, are not measures
defined under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and
do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. AFFO should not
be construed as an alternative to net earnings or cash flow from
operating activities as determined by IFRS. AFFO, as presented, may not
be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Crombie
believes that AFFO is useful in the assessment of its operating
performance and that this measure is also useful for valuation purposes
and is a relevant and meaningful measure of its ability to earn and
distribute cash to unitholders. Examples of reconciliations of AFFO to
the most directly comparable measure calculated in accordance with IFRS
are provided in the MD&A of Crombie for the year ended December 31,
2011.
About Crombie
Crombie is an 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
161 investment properties in nine provinces, comprising approximately
13.5 million square feet of rentable space. More information about
Crombie can be found at www.crombiereit.com.
This news release may contain 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 "continue", "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, and include, without
limitation, statements regarding the effect of the acquisition on the
financial performance of Crombie including the degree to which the
acquisition will be accretive. 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.
Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are subject
to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from these statements. Crombie can give no assurance
that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking
statements.
Additional information relating to Crombie 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.