Huntingdon Capital Corp. announces the closing of the sale of Ontario retail portfolio
RICHMOND, BC, July 2, 2012 /CNW/ - Huntingdon Capital Corp. ("Huntingdon") (TSX: HNT, HNT.DB and HNT.WT) announced today that it has successfully completed the sale of its Ontario retail portfolio.
"This sale marks a significant milestone for Huntingdon. We have exited from the Ontario retail space at an attractive valuation and are well positioned to use these sale proceeds to pursue accretive transactions for shareholders." said Zachary George, CEO and President.
The Ontario retail portfolio comprised of Lincoln Centre in Welland, Suncoast Mall in Goderich, Portage Place in Peterborough, Crossroads Centre in London and Speedvale Mall in Guelph.
The gross sales proceeds were $80.0 million and after adjusting for vendor financing of $23.7 million, mortgage discharges and other closing adjustments, net sale proceeds were $34.0 million. The terms of the vendor financing include an $18.7 million promissory note bearing interest at 12.0% per annum and a $5.0 million promissory note bearing interest at 5.5% per annum. Both promissory notes have a term of one year.
Three of the five properties sold were pledged as collateral for Huntingdon's secured debentures. As part of this sale, this security was replaced with four other properties: the Medical Arts office building in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a retail property in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and the industrial properties in Brooks and Grand Prairie, Alberta. The mortgages on these four properties amounted to $19.7 million and were discharged as part of the security replacement process.
The ultimate net proceeds to Huntingdon after closing adjustments and the debenture security replacement is $20.6 million. Huntingdon currently holds approximately $24.5 million in cash and has a net debt to total asset ratio of 46.8%.
Consistent with the previous announcement, management anticipates there will be no taxes payable arising from this transaction. The proceeds from the sale will be used for the repayment of mortgage debt, the return of capital to shareholders and potential acquisitions.
About Huntingdon:
Huntingdon owns, directly or indirectly, 68 income producing office, industrial and retail properties with a total gross leasable area of 4.5 million square feet.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed nor approved the contents of this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Zachary R. George, Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: (604) 249-5119
Fax: (604) 249-5101
Email: [email protected]
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