Federal Realty Investment Trust Closes $400 Million Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) today announced the closing of a new $400 million unsecured revolving credit facility.  Proceeds from the financing were utilized to retire the outstanding obligations under the Trust's previous $300 million revolving credit facility which was scheduled to mature on July 27, 2011 and for general corporate purposes.  As a result of the refinancing, the Trust has no additional debt maturities until July 2012.  The new revolving credit facility bears interest at an annual rate of LIBOR plus 115 basis points and will mature in July 2015, with an option to extend for an additional year.  In addition, Federal Realty has an option to upsize the facility through an accordion feature to $800 million.  

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Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and PNC Capital Markets LLC acted as lead arrangers for the facility.  Capital One, N.A., Royal Bank of Canada and US Bank, National Association acted as co-documentation agents.  Bank of America, N.A., BBVA Compass Bank, Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Ltd., Citigroup Global Markets., Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, First Commercial Bank, LTD. New York Branch, JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., Regions Bank, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust Bank and TD Bank, N.A. are all lenders for the transaction.

"Strong demand for Federal Realty's credit from high-quality financial institutions allowed us to establish a new pricing standard for comparable REIT deals in the current market," said Andrew Blocher, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Federal Realty.  "We continue to be disciplined with our balance sheet, providing us with better capital access at advantageous rates to pursue appropriate growth opportunities through operations, development and acquisitions."

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 93.8% leased to national, regional, and local retailers as of March 31, 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 43 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