JACKSONVILLE, FL,
March 30, 2020 (GLOBE
NEWSWIRE) --
Regency
Centers Corporation (the “Company”) provided the following updates
related to COVID-19.
Statement
from Lisa Palmer, President and Chief Executive Officer:
“First and foremost, thank you to all of the people
who are placing their lives at risk by going to work every day to help provide
our country with essential goods and services, such as healthcare workers,
grocery store employees, delivery personnel and public service workers, just to
name a few.
"You have our deepest gratitude and our thoughts
and prayers are with you. As to Regency, our priority is the well-being of our
team members, tenants, and the people in the communities that our properties
serve.
"Our dedicated teams are committed to working
with our tenants and vendors to ensure that our properties continue to
seamlessly provide the essential goods and services that the surrounding neighborhoods
need during this time.
“Although the
impacts of this unprecedented crisis are evolving rapidly and are difficult to
quantify, Regency is built to withstand challenges and adversity with its
strong balance sheet, exceptional people and a high quality portfolio of open
air shopping centers that are 80% grocery anchored."
2020 Guidance
Due to the uncertainty surrounding the impacts from
the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company announced today that it is withdrawing its
full year 2020 guidance that was previously issued on February
12, 2020.
Liquidity
To further strengthen Regency’s already strong
balance sheet and liquidity position in this rapidly evolving and uncertain
situation, the Company has taken additional steps to increase its liquidity.
The Company
settled its forward equity offering from September
2019 at $67.99 per
share resulting in net proceeds of approximately $125
million.
The Company also drew down $500
million from its existing $1.25
billion revolving credit facility. Including the aforementioned
credit facility draw, Regency now has a cash balance of approximately $720
million and an additional $545
million available under its revolving credit facility, which
together represent total liquidity of approximately $1.27
billion.
Regency has
no unsecured debt maturities until 2022. The Company’s pro rata share of
secured mortgage debt maturities in 2020 and 2021 is $153
million and $174 million,
respectively.
Investments
The Company has approximately $350
million of development and redevelopment projects currently in
process and in various stages of construction.
Approximately $225
million remains to be spent to complete these in-process projects.
Due to impacts of COVID-19, construction has been suspended at some projects
due to municipal orders, or has slowed substantially due to health concerns and
labor limitations.
Regency is assessing the impact of these project
delays and will provide additional updates with its First Quarter 2020 earnings
results. The Company is also closely assessing all pipeline development and
redevelopment projects as well as non-essential capital expenditures.
Annual Shareholder Meeting
Due to the emerging public health impact of COVID-19
and to protect the safety of participants, the in-person Annual Meeting of
Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) being held on Wednesday,
April 29, 2020 at 9:00
a.m. EDT, has been changed to a virtual format only.
The virtual meeting will utilize online tools that
ensure shareholders have the same rights and opportunities to participate as
they would at an in-person meeting.
A live stream webcast, including closed captioning,
can be accessed on the following website: virtualshareholdermeeting.com/REG2020.
Online access to the webcast will open 15 minutes prior to the designated start
time.
 |
| Laura Clark |
As
described in the proxy materials for the Annual Meeting, a shareholder is
entitled to vote in the Annual Meeting if the shareholder was a shareholder as
of the close of business on March 9,
2020, the record date, or holds a legal proxy for the meeting provided
by the shareholder’s bank, broker, or nominee.
To vote in the virtual meeting, a shareholder must
enter the control number found on the shareholder’s proxy card, voting
instruction form or notice the shareholder previously received.
Shareholders may submit questions in advance when
they register for the meeting and at the conclusion of the virtual meeting
through the webcast.
CONTACT:
