Federal Capital Partners Completes $320 Million Acquisition of American Community Properties Trust

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Federal Capital Partners (FCP) today announced the closing on December 30, 2009 of its acquisition of American Community Properties Trust (NYSE Amex: APO), referred to as ACPT. The acquisition was effected through a cash merger between FCP Fund I, L.P. and ACPT in which ACPT Shareholders received total consideration of $43.6 million. The purchase of ACPT includes real estate holdings with an approximate book value of $320 million.

Since 1968, ACPT and its predecessor have been the developer of St. Charles, a 9,100 acre planned community in Charles County, Maryland, just 11 miles south of the D.C. Capital Beltway and 23 miles from the White House. ACPT is a real estate development and operating company that owns 3,200 apartments and 230,000 square feet of commercial property, as well as 4,000 acres of land entitled for 2,500 apartments, 8,500 homes and 5 million square feet of commercial development. Approximately half complete, St. Charles is home to 40,000 residents and over 4 million square feet of commercial property. Headquartered in St. Charles, ACPT has over 100 employees across its operations, all of whom are expected to remain with the company.

"This is a rare opportunity to buy a well-managed company with strong, stable cash flow and the Washington, D.C. area's largest inventory of fully entitled, reasonably priced, well located home sites," said FCP partner, Lacy Rice. In 2008 and 2009, homebuyers and renters recognized St. Charles, which is as close to Washington as similar planned communities like Reston and Columbia, as one of the Washington area's best values in residential communities. Lennar, NVR and Richmond American are currently building new homes at St. Charles starting from the low $200's.

Taking ACPT private will allow the Company to reduce operating costs, improve financial flexibility and accelerate growth. Steve Griessel, Chief Executive Officer of ACPT, said, "FCP gives us the resources to heighten awareness about St. Charles' highly-ranked public schools, the attributes of a greener lifestyle, our broad array of recreational amenities, and a remarkably affordable high-quality lifestyle -- all within 11 miles of the Beltway."

In December 2009, ACPT unveiled a plan to make St. Charles an international model for green communities. The ambitious plan includes dedicating the remaining 4,000 acres, which encompasses 11,000 housing units and 5 million square feet of commercial space, for development into a model green city according to high environmental standards, minimizing the carbon footprint of future homes and businesses. It also includes an aggressive marketing effort to incentivize and promote the retrofitting of existing homes and businesses to make them more energy efficient. Extending rapid transit into northern Charles County is part of ACPT's long-term plan to promote the energy efficient lifestyle and reduce congestion on Routes 301, 5 and 210 south of the D.C. Capital Beltway.

"As FCP takes ownership, we intend to raise the profile of St. Charles and the many benefits and amenities of this outstanding planned community among potential homebuyers and apartment residents in the metro Washington market," said FCP Managing Director, Alan Shearer. Mr. Shearer continued, "Affordability, quality, safety and energy efficiency are key lifestyle issues for people deciding on where they will live, work, play and send their children to school."

FBR Capital Markets & Co. acted as financial advisor to the special committee of ACPT's board of trustees.

About Federal Capital Partners

Federal Capital Partners is a real estate investment company and fund manager headquartered in Georgetown in Washington, D.C. The Managing Partners include Esko Korhonen, Lacy Rice, Tom Carr and Alex Marshall. Since its inception, FCP has acquired more than $1.5 billion of real estate assets and debt across all property types. The purchase of ACPT caps a year in which FCP purchased more than $525 million of Washington, D.C. area residential and commercial real estate investments. FCP's ability to own, operate, develop or finance allows the firm to have a broad investment strategy focusing on all asset classes. FCP has established a strong reputation in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area real estate markets as an investor with a keen eye for identifying unexploited markets and product sectors.

FCP Fund I, L.P. is a $240 million co-mingled real estate private equity fund formed to invest in multiple real estate sectors in the Mid-Atlantic region, with a focus on the metro Washington, D.C. area. The Fund is able to provide both debt and equity capital as needed for real estate investments in the market. For further information, please visit www.fcpdc.com.

For additional information on FCP, please visit http://www.fcpdc.com. For more information on ACPT, visit http://www.acptrust.com. For information on the St. Charles Green City, visit http://www.stcharlesgreen.com.

SOURCE American Community Properties Trust