Monday, August 8, 2011

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust Enters into Contracts to Sell Industrial Portfolio



ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WRIT) (NYSE: WRE) has entered into several contracts with a single buyer to dispose of its entire industrial portfolio as well as two office assets.

 The assets to be sold comprise a total of approximately 3.1 million square feet. The sales prices under the contracts aggregate to $350,000,000.

The assets to be sold consist of 16 industrial assets (comprising the entirety of WRIT’s industrial division) along with the Crescent and Albemarle office buildings.

The contracts consist of five separate purchase and sale agreements, each covering one or more separate assets.

Three of the contracts (which aggregate to $235.7 million of assets) are expected to close on or about September 1, 2011. An additional contract (representing $44.6 million of assets) is expected to close on or about October 3, 2011. The final contract (representing $69.7 million of assets) is expected to close on or about November 1, 2011.

 Each of the contracts represents a separate binding obligation to purchase the associated assets. The escrow deposits under the contracts aggregate to $20 million.

"In initiating these sale transactions, WRIT has taken a major step towards executing on a strategic goal we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year.

 “Having our industrial portfolio under these contracts enables us to focus our attention on redeploying expected sales proceeds in assets that better fit our long term strategy of acquiring properties inside the Beltway, near major transportation nodes and in areas with strong employment drivers and superior growth demographics," stated George F. “Skip” McKenzie (top right photo) President and Chief Executive Officer of WRIT.

 “We’re delighted to be moving forward with our strategic plan at this current pace.”


Contacts
Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WRIT)
William T. Camp
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Tel: 301-984-9400
Fax: 301-984-9610


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