Beachwood-based SITE Centers Corp., the former Developers Diversified Realty, said it has formed a joint venture with a pair of Chinese institutional investors by selling an 80 percent stake in a 10-property portfolio.
Dividend Trust Portfolio was valued at about $607 million, said SITE Centers which will retain a 20% stake in the JV and receive management fees.
“This exciting joint venture is the culmination of a multi-year relationship building process that has resulted in a new strategic partnership that we expect to ultimately extend beyond this initial investment,” SITE Centers CEO David Lukes said in a statement.
The assets in the JV, none of which are in Northeast Ohio, were chosen to provide stable current income, SITE Centers said. As a result, the remaining 68-properties in the company's wholly owned portfolio will have an improved expected cash flow growth profile and increased exposure to redevelopment.
The deal is projected to reduce SITE Centers’ pro rata Debt to Adjusted EBITDA to below 6.0X and to increase weighted average debt maturity to 6.5 years from 5.7 years prior to the transaction.
Net proceeds from the transaction will be used to repay $95 million of mortgage debt maturing in first quarter 2019 and up to $400 million of unsecured debt. The Chinese investors were not identified.
