Developers Diversified Upgrades Loans

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Developers Diversified Realty Corp. announced last week it has replaced a $550 million loan scheduled to mature in February 2012 with a new one for $500 million. The new loan has a 39-month term, with an additional 12-month extension option, and was arranged by KeyBanc Capital Markets and J.P. Morgan Securities L.L.C. It represents the end of a recapitalization process that started in late 2008 and was meant to cut debt and reduce risk.

DDR was founded in 1965 and is based in Beachwood, a Cleveland suburb. It is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust and is in the business of acquiring, developing, redeveloping, owning, leasing and managing shopping centers and, to a lesser extent, business centers.

The company owns and manages 520 retail properties in 41 states, Puerto Rico and Brazil, a total of almost 127 million square feet. It is the largest landlord in Puerto Rico and also owns a premier portfolio of regional malls primarily clustered around Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Developers Diversified Realty has also amended its two senior unsecured revolving credit facilities, obtaining a longer loan term at a lower interest rate and reducing the size of one credit line from $950 million to $750 million. The recent moves leave Developers Diversified with just over $4 billion worth of consolidated debt.

Last week, on June 30, DDR announced that it completed $112 million in asset sales during the second quarter of 2011. The company’s share was $87 million. The company also announced that it will acquire two prime shopping centers for approximately $85 million. It expects to close these acquisitions in the third quarter of 2011. This year, the company has generated gross proceeds of $155 million from asset sales, of which DDR’s share is $107 million. Proceeds from recent and future asset sales will be used to buy prime shopping centers.

Shares of Developers Diversified’s stock (NYSE: DDR) closed trading at $ 14.82 on Friday, July 8, down 0.4 percent. The 52-week range is $9.54 to $14.96.