Federal Realty Investment Trust Closes $275 Million Seven Year Unsecured Term Loan

ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) today announced the closing of a new $275 million unsecured term loan.  Proceeds from the financing were utilized to pay down outstanding balances under the Trust's $400 million revolving credit facility, and will be used to fund near-term acquisitions, development expenditures at Santana Row, Pike & Rose and Assembly Row and for general corporate purposes.  The term loan bears interest at an annual rate of LIBOR plus 145 basis points and will mature in November 2018, with the ability to prepay without premium after three years.  In addition, Federal Realty has an option to upsize the term loan to $350 million through an accordion feature.   Prior to closing, Federal Realty swapped $275 million of LIBOR exposure through November 1, 2018 at a rate of 1.72%, resulting in a fixed rate of 3.17% throughout the term of the loan.

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PNC Capital Markets LLC and Capital One Bank, National Association acted as joint lead arrangers for the term loan, with PNC Bank, National Association as Administrative Agent and Capital One Bank, National Association as Syndication Agent.  Regions Bank and SunTrust Bank acted as Co-Documentation Agents and TD Bank, N.A. was a lender for the transaction.

"This unsecured term loan execution provides attractively priced long-term capital to fund our pipeline of acquisition and development activities while also maintaining a desired structure of well laddered debt maturities," said Andrew Blocher, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Federal Realty.  "We were able to take advantage of a pricing disconnect between the bank and unsecured notes markets by acting swiftly and with the support of a number of our strong existing lending relationships."

About Federal Realty

Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management, development, and redevelopment of high quality retail assets. Federal Realty's portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) contains approximately 18.6 million square feet located primarily in strategically selected metropolitan markets in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and California. In addition, the Trust has an ownership interest in approximately 1.0 million square feet of retail space through a joint venture in which the Trust has a 30% interest. Our operating portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) was 93.3% leased to national, regional, and local retailers as of September 30, 2011, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 2.6% of annualized base rent. Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 44 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty is an S&P MidCap 400 company and its common shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT.

Safe Harbor Language

Certain matters discussed within this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws.  Although Federal Realty believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained.  These factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 15, 2011, and include the following:

• risks that our tenants will not pay rent, may vacate early or may file for bankruptcy or that we may be unable to renew leases or re-let space at favorable rents as leases expire;
• risks that we may not be able to proceed with or obtain necessary approvals for any redevelopment or renovation project, and that completion of anticipated or ongoing property redevelopment or renovation projects that we do pursue may cost more, take more time to complete or fail to perform as expected;
• risks that the number of properties we acquire for our own account, and therefore the amount of capital we invest in acquisitions, may be impacted by our real estate partnerships;
• risks normally associated with the real estate industry, including risks that occupancy levels at our properties and the amount of rent that we receive from our properties may be lower than expected, that new acquisitions may fail to perform as expected, that competition for acquisitions could result in increased prices for acquisitions, that costs associated with the periodic maintenance and repair or renovation of space, insurance and other operations may increase, that environmental issues may develop at our properties and result in unanticipated costs, and, because real estate is illiquid, that we may not be able to sell properties when appropriate;
• risks that our growth will be limited if we cannot obtain additional capital;
• risks associated with general economic conditions, including local economic conditions in our geographic markets;
• risks of financing, such as our ability to consummate additional financings or obtain replacement financing on terms which are acceptable to us, our ability to meet existing financial covenants and the limitations imposed on our operations by those covenants, and the possibility of increases in interest rates that would result in increased interest expense; and
• risks related to our status as a real estate investment trust, commonly referred to as a REIT, for federal income tax purposes, such as the existence of complex tax regulations relating to our status as a REIT, the effect of future changes in REIT requirements as a result of new legislation, and the adverse consequences of the failure to qualify as a REIT.

Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements that we make, including those in this press release.  Except as required by law, we make no promise to update any of the forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.  You should review the risks contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 15, 2011.

SOURCE Federal Realty Investment Trust