MINOT, ND -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 09/18/06 --
Investors Real Estate Trust ("IRET") (NASDAQ: IRETS) announced today that on September 15, 2006, it completed the
previously-announced acquisition of a portfolio of nine office complexes,
consisting of 15 buildings totaling approximately 936,568 rentable square
feet (the "Magnum Portfolio"), from subsidiaries of Omaha-based Magnum
Resources, Inc., a real estate services and investment firm founded by W.
David Scott, for aggregate consideration of approximately $140.8 million.
The Magnum Portfolio is comprised of the following properties:
-- Pacific Hills, an approximately 143,061 rentable square feet ("r. sq.
ft.") office complex consisting of three multi-story and two single-story
buildings located at 120th and Pacific Street, Omaha, Nebraska.
-- Corporate Center West, an approximately 141,724 r. sq .ft. office
complex consisting of three two-story buildings located at Old Mill Road in
Omaha, Nebraska.
-- Farnam Executive Center, an approximately 94,832 r. sq. ft. five-story
office building located at Farnam Drive in Omaha, Nebraska.
-- Miracle Hills One, an approximately 84,475 r. sq. ft., five-story
office building located at Miracle Hills Drive in Omaha, Nebraska.
-- Woodlands Plaza IV, an approximately 60,942 r. sq. ft., three-story
office building located on Borman Drive in St. Louis, Missouri.
-- Riverport, an approximately 122,567 r. sq. ft., three-story office
building located on Riverport Drive in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
-- Timberlands, an approximately 90,315 r. sq. ft., three-story office
building located at West 114th Street in Leawood, Kansas.
-- Flagship, an approximately 138,825 r. sq. ft., four-story office
building located on Prairie Center Drive in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
-- Gateway Corporate Center, an approximately 59,827 r. sq. ft., two-
story office building located on Bielenberg Drive in Woodbury, Minnesota.
The acquisition price of $140.8 million for the Magnum Portfolio was funded
through a combination of a draw of the entire $122,610,000 available for
borrowing under a loan from Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corp., of which
$89,428,441 was used to repay existing indebtedness on the Magnum Portfolio
and certain closing costs and expenses in regard to the acquisition and the
Citigroup loan (with the remainder of the loan proceeds being held by the
Borrower to be used for commercial purposes); and the issuance by IRET
Properties, a North Dakota Limited Partnership and a subsidiary of IRET
through which IRET conducts substantially all of its business and owns
substantially all of its assets, of approximately 5.9 million units of its
limited partnership units, valued at $9.50 per unit, or approximately $55.9
million in total, to the selling entities of the Magnum Portfolio. These
limited partnership units become redeemable for cash, or, at IRET's
election, for IRET's common shares of beneficial interest on a one-to-one
basis, beginning two years from their issuance under the terms of IRET
Properties' limited partnership agreement.
As of the closing date of the acquisition, the office portfolio is
approximately 94% leased to multiple tenants, with lease terms ranging from
36 months to 12 years. The acquisition of the Magnum Portfolio increased
IRET's office portfolio from 56 office properties containing approximately
3.8 million square feet of leasable space, to 65 office properties
comprising approximately 4.7 million leasable square feet, an increase of
approximately 25%.
IRET's President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas A. Wentz, Sr.,
commented, "We are very pleased to have closed this transaction, the
largest in IRET's history. This acquisition adds significant square
footage and high-quality office properties to our diversified portfolio.
We are also pleased that our association with the selling entities will
continue through their ownership of units in our operating partnership,
IRET Properties."
About Investors Real Estate Trust
IRET is an equity real estate investment trust with a diversified portfolio
of multi-family residential, office, medical, industrial and retail
properties located primarily in the upper Midwest. IRET's headquarters are
located in Minot, North Dakota, and it has additional offices in
Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Omaha, Nebraska. IRET's common shares of
beneficial interest trade on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol
IRETS. For more information, visit IRET's website at www.iret.com.
Safe Harbor
Statements about IRET's future expectations and all other statements in
this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term
is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The
Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe
harbors created thereby. Since these statements involve risks and
uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual
results could differ materially from expected results.
CONTACT:
Timothy P. Mihalick
PO Box 1988
12 South Main Street
Minot, North Dakota 58701
701.837.4738 phone
701.838.8875 fax
Email Contact
WEBSITE: www.iret.com