Stamford, CT; Toronto, Ontario – June 4, 2007 – GE Real Estate, a unit of GE Commercial Finance, and Dundee REIT (D.UN – TSX) announced today that they have executed a definitive agreement whereby Dundee REIT’s operating subsidiary will sell its portfolio of real estate assets located principally in Ontario, Québec and Newfoundland (the “Eastern Portfolio”) to GE Real Estate for approximately $2.4 billion CDN.
As part of this transaction, GE Real Estate has agreed to purchase $165 million of outstanding units of Dundee REIT, which will give GE Real Estate an approximate 18% equity interest in Dundee REIT following completion. Dundee REIT will continue to own $1.5 billion of real estate assets in Western Canada.
Unitholders of Dundee REIT will receive an offer to tender an aggregate of approximately 32 million units for consideration of $47.50 cash per unit. This represents a premium of 19% over the closing price of the REIT’s units on the Toronto Stock Exchange on June 1, 2007, the last trading day prior to this announcement.
"This transaction is consistent with equity deals we’ve completed around the world,” said Alec Burger, Senior Vice President, at GE Real Estate. “It gives us a high-quality portfolio of real estate assets in a number of dynamic and rapidly growing cities. We have long been a real estate investor in Canada and this helps us accelerate our presence in this market. We look forward to working closely with the Dundee team to complete this transaction.”
"We believe that this is the ideal time for this transaction. Dundee REIT has performed extremely well over the last two years and is among the most successful commercial REITs,” said Michael Cooper, Vice Chairman and CEO of Dundee REIT. “This transaction provides many benefits for Dundee REIT and its unitholders. This transaction also demonstrates the intrinsic value of the Dundee portfolio, the Dundee executives and its employees.”
Katherine Lee, Managing Director, Canada at GE Real Estate, added, “Canada is among the top real estate markets in the world and the Dundee REIT portfolio is made up of a large number of well-positioned assets in strong growth markets. GE Real Estate has a successful track record of tremendous growth in Canada and this deal is evidence of our commitment to continued growth in Canada. We’re looking forward to working with Dundee and growing this relationship.”
Completion of the transaction is expected to close in late August 2007, subject to approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange.
GE Contact:
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John Oliver
Office: 203/750-3089
Cell Phone: 203/984-7757
john.oliver@ge.com
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Richard Ringer
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Notes to editors:
About GE Real Estate
GE Real Estate (
www.gerealestate.com) is one of the world's premier commercial real estate companies with more than US$59 billion in assets and a presence in 28 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. Backed by GE's AAA rating, GE Real Estate offers a comprehensive range of capital and investment solutions including equity capital for acquisition or development, as well as fixed and floating rate mortgages for new acquisitions or re-capitalizations of commercial real estate. With a 28% compound annual growth rate since 1993, GE Real Estate is one of the world's fastest growing and most profitable real estate enterprises. This extraordinary record of success grows out of a reputation for collaboration and partnership; a depth of knowledge and experience and a history of building relationships, finding opportunities and opening doors for more than 5,000 owners, builders, borrowers and brokers worldwide.
GE Commercial Finance (
www.gecommercialfinance.com) offers businesses around the globe an extensive array of financial products and services. With more than US$246 billion in assets and expertise in the middle-market, GE Commercial Finance provides loans, operating leases, financing programs and innovative structured capital to help customers grow. Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, GE Commercial Finance is a wholly owned subsidiary of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), a diversified services, technology and manufacturing company with operations worldwide.
