SALT LAKE CITY — Excel Trust Inc. (NYSE: EXL), a retail real estate investment trust (REIT), has purchased three shopping centers in the Salt Lake City area from DDR Corp. (NYSE: DDR) for approximately $223 million. The three properties total approximately 1.8 million square feet.
“We are pleased to reach an agreement with the team at Excel and appreciate their high level of collaboration to effectuate an off-market transaction that accrues to the benefit of both parties,” says Daniel Hurwitz, CEO of DDR, which is also a retail-focused REIT.
According to the two parties, DDR has a desire to exit the Salt Lake City market and Excel wants to expand its presence in a market where it has an established corporate and operating presence.
The properties included in the transaction are:
· The Family Center at Fort Union
· The Family Center at Orem and
· The Family Center at Taylorsville
As a part of the transaction, Excel Trust has sold The Family Center at Taylorsville to Dallas-based TriGate Capital. LUCESCU REALTY represented Excel in both sale transactions and dealt directly with DDR and TriGate Capital.
“We value our relationship with DDR and are pleased to announce this transaction. Utah is a business friendly state and boasts some of the best employment and economic data in the nation,” says Gary Sabin, CEO of Excel Trust.
DDR Corp. owns and manages 390 value-oriented shopping centers representing 108 million square feet in 39 states and Puerto Rico.
DDR’s stock price closed Friday, Sept. 26 at $16.55 per share, up from $15.71 per share at this time last year.
Excel Trust primarily targets community and power centers, grocery-anchored neighborhood centers and freestanding retail properties. The company’s assets are located in the Southeast, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
Excel Trust’s stock price closed Friday, Sept. 26 at $11.97 per share, down slightly from trading at $12 per share a year ago.
— John Nelson