MACQUARIE COUNTRYWIDE TO SELL SHARE IN JOINT VENTURE

ATLANTA — Macquarie CountryWide Trust, the Australian REIT, has agreed to sell its 75 percent interest in 86 shopping centers it holds in partnership with Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers for $1.3 billion. The REIT had $1.38 billion in CMBS debt scheduled to mature on the properties over the next few years. The deal represents 80 percent of Macquarie CountryWide’s U.S. holdings. Global Retail Investors, LLC. (GRI), a joint venture of First Washington Realty and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), is acquiring the portfolio over 2 years in a three-part process. The first phase will allow GRI to purchase a 45 percent interest of the portfolio for $778.5 million, which is expected to be complete by the end of the month. Following this, GRI will take a further 15 or 20 percent stake of Macquarie CountryWide’s share of the portfolio, with Regency having the option to take a 5 percent stake by March 31, 2010. Regency also has an option to increase its stake in the venture in the third phase, when the remaining 10 percent of Macquarie CountryWide’s stake will be sold. If Regency chooses not to increase its stake in the venture, it will instead receive cash compensation as pre-arranged in the original JV agreement. Regency will continue to manage the assets in the portfolio and continue to provide other property-level services, such as leasing, to the centers. Centers owned by the joint venture include Festival at Manchester Lakes in Franconia, Va., El Cerrito Plaza in El Cerrito, Calif.; Granada Village in Granada Hills, Calif.; Shoppes at 104 in Kendall Lake, Fla.; Applewood Village in Wheat Ridge, Colo.; and Roswell Crossing in Roswell, Ga.