TORONTO and DALLAS, Sept. 28, 2015 /CNW/ – Milestone Apartments Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: MST.UN) (“Milestone” or the “REIT”) today announced that it has completed the purchase of Estates at Vista Ridge (“Vista Ridge”), previously known as Broadstone Vista Ridge, a 372-unit, Class A multifamily apartment community located in the Lewisville submarket of Dallas, Texas, for a purchase price of US$45.0 million. For more information on Vista Ridge, please refer to the REIT’s news release of August 26, 2015.
Acquisition Funding
The purchase of Vista Ridge was funded through a combination of: (i) a new 6-year interest only fixed-rate mortgage of approximately US$24.9 million at an interest rate of 3.38% maturing in October 2021; (ii) the issuance of 265,749 class B limited partnership units of Milestone Multifamily Investors LP at the previously agreed upon price of US$11.50 per class B unit (representing a consideration of approximately US$3.1 million); and (iii) the balance of the purchase was funded with cash using proceeds received from the REIT’s recent disposition of Villas at Cave Creek (“Villas”), described below.
Villas at Cave Creek Disposition
As part of Milestone’s overall business strategy to continuously high-grade the REIT’s portfolio to optimize cash flow performance and build long-term Unitholder value through strategic acquisitions and dispositions, the REIT also announced the recent disposition of Villas, a 696-unit multifamily apartment community in Phoenix, Arizona, that was built in 1986, for gross proceeds of US$43.2 million. The in-place cap rate for Villas was 5.9% and the floating rate debt associated with this property was US$17.8 million with an interest rate of approximately 1.73%.
About Milestone
Milestone is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust that is governed by the laws of Ontario. The REIT’s portfolio consists of 61 multifamily garden-style residential properties, comprising 19,908 units that are located in 14 major metropolitan markets throughout the Southeast and Southwest United States. Milestone is the largest real estate investment trust listed on the TSX focused solely on the United States multifamily sector. The REIT operates its portfolio through its internal property management company, Milestone Management, LLC, which has more than 900 employees across the United States. Based in Dallas, TX, TMG Partners, L.P., an affiliate of The Milestone Group, LLC, is the external asset manager of the REIT. For more information, please visit www.milestonereit.com.
About The Milestone Group, LLC
The Milestone Group is a privately-held real estate investment management company with expertise and presence in major metropolitan markets throughout the United States. The firm has corporate offices in Dallas, Texas and New York, New York with regional acquisition and management offices across the United States. Founded in 2004, The Milestone Group has a strong track record of investing in the U.S. multifamily sector, including completion of more than US$4.5 billion in multifamily transactions. For more information, please visit www.milestonegp.com.
Forward-looking information and non-IFRS measures
This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) relating to the business of the REIT and the environment in which it operates. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as “believe”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “will”, “may”, “estimate” and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the REIT’s expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections and include, without limitation, statements regarding the REIT’s strategy and optimizing cash flow performance and building long term Unitholder value. They are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the REIT’s annual information form available at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on certain assumptions. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the REIT assumes no obligation to publicly update any such statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
“In-place cap rate” is not a measure recognized under IFRS and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. In place cap rate is presented in this news release because management of the REIT believes that this measure is relevant in interpreting the sales price for Villas. Capitalization rate, as computed by the REIT, may differ from similar computations as reported by other similar organizations and, accordingly, may not be comparable to capitalization rate reported by such other organizations.
