Forest City to explore strategic alternatives for retail portfolio

CLEVELAND, Aug. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a process to review strategic alternatives for the company's retail portfolio, which consists of ownership interest in 14 regional malls in markets around the country, and 19 specialty retail centers, which are located primarily in New York City.

"Over the past five years, we have made tremendous progress transforming Forest City by focusing on core urban markets and products, reducing complexity, paying down debt, driving operational excellence and converting to REIT status," said David J. LaRue, Forest City president and chief executive officer. "As part of this ongoing transformation, and after careful consideration, we have made the decision to explore strategic alternatives for our retail portfolio.  We intend to look at a range of options and expect the review process to be concluded by the first quarter of 2017.  Assuming we identify and transact on a chosen alternative, or alternatives, our intent would be to redeploy the value from our retail portfolio into apartment and office assets that align with our focus on core markets and urban, mixed-use placemaking projects.

"While this process is ongoing, we remain fully committed to our retail properties and tenants, and to the customers and communities they serve, as well as to our associates who work at our retail centers and support our retail portfolio," said LaRue.

The company intends to retain its ownership interest in Ballston Quarter (formerly Ballston Common Mall) in Arlington, Virginia, which is being redeveloped into an urban mixed-use project to include office, multifamily, and retail uses.

There can be no assurance that this review process will result in any transaction being announced or consummated. Forest City does not intend to disclose further developments during this process until its Board of Directors has approved a specific course of action or the company has otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate.

The company will hold a conference call with investors to discuss this announcement on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, at 10 a.m., ET.  Details on accessing the call will follow in a separate press release.  The call will be webcast through the company's website, www.forestcity.net, and an archived replay will also be available.

About Forest City

Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. is an NYSE-listed national real estate company with $8.9 billion in consolidated assets. The company is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.forestcity.net.

Safe Harbor Language

Statements made in this news release that state the company's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. The company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due to various risks, uncertainties and other factors. Risks and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, its ability to qualify or to remain qualified as a REIT, its ability to satisfy REIT distribution requirements, the impact of issuing equity, debt or both, and selling assets to satisfy its future distributions required as a REIT or to fund capital expenditures, future growth and expansion initiatives, the impact of the amount and timing of any future distributions, the impact from complying with REIT qualification requirements limiting its flexibility or causing it to forego otherwise attractive opportunities beyond rental real estate operations, the impact of complying with the REIT requirements related to hedging, its lack of experience operating as a REIT, legislative, administrative, regulatory or other actions affecting REITs, including positions taken by the Internal Revenue Service, the possibility that its Board of Directors will unilaterally revoke its REIT election, the possibility that the anticipated benefits of qualifying as a REIT will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period, the impact of current lending and capital market conditions on its liquidity, its ability to finance or refinance projects or repay its debt, the impact of the slow economic recovery on the ownership, development and management of its commercial real estate portfolio, general real estate investment and development risks, using modular construction as a new construction methodology and owning a factory to produce modular units, litigation risks, vacancies in its properties, risks associated with developing and managing properties in partnership with others, competition, its ability to renew leases or re-lease spaces as leases expire, illiquidity of real estate investments, bankruptcy or defaults of tenants, anchor store consolidations or closings, the impact of terrorist acts and other armed conflicts, our substantial debt leverage and the ability to obtain and service debt, the impact of restrictions imposed by its revolving credit facility, term loan facility and senior debt, exposure to hedging agreements, the level and volatility of interest rates, the continued availability of tax-exempt government financing, its ability to receive payment on the notes receivable issued by Onexim in connection with their purchase of the company's interests in the Barclays Center and the Nets, the impact of credit rating downgrades, effects of uninsured or underinsured losses, effects of a downgrade or failure of its insurance carriers, environmental liabilities, competing interest of its directors and executive officers, the ability to recruit and retain key personnel, risks associated with the sale of tax credits, downturns in the housing market, the ability to maintain effective internal controls, compliance with governmental regulations, increased legislative and regulatory scrutiny of the financial services industry, changes in federal, state or local tax laws, volatility in the market price of its publicly traded securities, inflation risks, cybersecurity risks, cyber incidents, conflicts of interest, and risks related to its organizational structure including operating through its Operating Partnership and its UPREIT structure, as well as other risks listed from time to time in the company's SEC filings, including but not limited to, the company's annual and quarterly reports.

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SOURCE Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.forestcity.net