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CIM Real Estate Finance Trust to Sell 81 Retail Properties to AR Global REIT for $1.32 Billion

CIM Real Estate Finance Trust Inc., a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust, has agreed to sell all of its shopping centers to American Finance Trust.

CIM Real Estate Finance Trust Inc., a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust, has agreed to sell all of its shopping centers to American Finance Trust Inc. (Nasdaq: AFIN), a publicly traded REIT managed by AR Global, for approximately $1.32 billion. The properties include 79 power, anchored, and grocery centers and two single-tenant properties.

The sale price includes up to $1.27 billion in cash, $53.4 million in AFIN stock, and additional consideration based on certain performance measures of the sites during a 180-day period post-closing. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2022.

The CIM REIT plans to use the sale proceeds to “pay down debt and invest in senior secured loans and credit leases.”

“This transaction represents a key milestone as [CIM Real Estate Finance Trust] sharpens its focus on its core business as a credit REIT that invests principally in senior secured loans and credit leases,” said Richard Ressler, principal and co-founder of CIM Group.

The 81 properties included in the agreement have a weighted average lease term of five years compared with CIM Real Estate Finance Trust’s remaining portfolio of 437 credit lease properties with a lease term of 10.8 years.

Following the final close, CIM Real Estate Finance Trust’s portfolio is expected to total 13.2 million rentable square feet of commercial space across 45 states. Those assets are 98.4 percent leased and represent 25 industry sectors. Additionally, the REIT’s senior secured loan portfolio totaled $1.6 billion as of September 30, 2021.

CIM Real Estate Finance Trust recently completed its merger with affiliated non-traded REIT, CIM Income NAV Inc., in a stock-for-stock merger transaction, marking another step in its business plan execution and anticipated public listing in 2022.

Separately, American Finance Trust plans to change its name to “The Necessity Retail REIT” and its Nasdaq ticker symbol to “RTL.” The company also plans to change the trading symbols of its Series A preferred stock to “RTLPP” and its Series C preferred stock to “RTLPO.”

CIM Real Estate Finance Trust primarily owns and operates a portfolio of core commercial real estate assets consisting of net leased properties and a portfolio of commercial mortgage loans. The REIT launched its offering in January 2012 and raised more than $3 billion prior to closing in April 2014.

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