Crombie REIT announces acquisition of $132 million of retail properties in western Canada

STELLARTON, NS, Feb. 19, 2013 /CNW/ - Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust ("Crombie REIT") (TSX: CRR.UN) today announced it will acquire four retail plaza properties, all located in Alberta, from a third party for $132 million with closing expected to occur by the end of February 2013.

Crombie will acquire the following properties: a 143,000 square foot fully occupied property located in Fort McMurray anchored by a Sobeys grocery store; a 100,000 square foot 98% occupied property located in Lethbridge anchored by a Safeway grocery store; a 29,000 square foot fully occupied property located in Lethbridge anchored by Shoppers Drug Mart; and a 34,000 square foot 85% occupied property located in Edmonton anchored by Shoppers Drug Mart and shadow-anchored by a Crombie owned Sobeys location.

The properties will be purchased using Crombie's revolving credit facility and the proceeds of the $60 million prospectus unit offering and related private placement completed December 14, 2012.  The borrowing base and available limit on Crombie's revolving credit facility will be temporarily increased to a maximum of $285 million through the pledging of the acquired properties until such time as more permanent financing is in place, at which time the borrowing base and limit will be reduced to its existing $200 million level.  Crombie will also assume $10.8 million in mortgages upon closing of the acquisition.

Commenting on the acquisition, Donald E. Clow, FCA, President and Chief Executive Officer stated: "We are very pleased with these acquisitions as they align with the continued growth of our portfolio of high quality grocery and drug anchored shopping centers across Canada. Growth in western Canada is particularly important to our long term strategy as these markets are strong and vibrant with an opportunity for solid cash flow growth."

About Crombie

Crombie is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust established under, and governed by, the laws of the Province of Ontario. The trust invests in income-producing retail, office and mixed-use properties in Canada, with a future growth strategy focused primarily on the acquisition of retail properties. Crombie currently owns a portfolio of 169 commercial properties in nine provinces, comprising approximately 14.0 million square feet of rentable space. More information about Crombie can be found at www.crombiereit.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the current expectations of management of Crombie about Crombie's future results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as "may", "will", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "intend" and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management of Crombie. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors, including those discussed in the 2011 annual Management Discussion and Analysis under "Risk Management", could cause actual results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and a reader should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the expectations of management of Crombie will prove to be correct.  It is Crombie's policy not to update these forward-looking statements except to the extent required by law.

In particular, certain statements in this document discuss Crombie's anticipated outlook of future events, including statements relating to: the anticipated refinancing and adjustment to its borrowing base, which could be impacted by changes in interest rates, the availability of new mortgage financing on acceptable terms and additional acquisition or financing activity by Crombie; and, expected cash flow growth which could be impacted by competition and local market conditions.

Crombie's consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the period ended September 30, 2012 can be found on Crombie's web site at www.crombiereit.com or on the SEDAR web site for Canadian regulatory filings at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE: Crombie REIT