Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT Increased MFFO by 103 Percent in 2015
Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT Inc., a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust, announced its operating results for the year ended December 31, 2015.
As of December 31, 2015, REIT’s portfolio consisted of 75 assets totaling 18.8 million square feet with a total acquisition value of approximately $3.1 billion.
Highlights and Accomplishments in 2015 and Results as of December 31, 2015
• Total acquisition value and portfolio square footage increased by approximately 55 percent and 44 percent, respectively, since December 31, 2014. The total capitalization of the portfolio was approximately $3.4 billion.
• The weighted average remaining lease term was approximately 7.7 years with average annual rent increases of approximately 2 percent.
• Modified funds from operations was approximately $128.7 million for the year, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 103 percent for the same period in 2014.
• Funds from operations was approximately $99.1 million and $49.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
• On June 10, 2015, the REIT completed a merger with Signature Office REIT Inc., in which SOR merged into the REIT’s wholly-owned subsidiary, and each share of common stock of SOR issued and outstanding on the date of merger was converted into 2.04 shares of GCEAR common stock. As a result, GCEAR issued approximately 41.8 million shares of common stock. As part of the merger, the company assumed 13 properties consisting of 15 buildings, located in 8 states, comprising approximately 2.6 million square feet. A combined value of approximately $607.1 million was allocated to the real estate assumed in the merger.
• On July 20, 2015, the company entered into a $1.14 billion senior unsecured credit facility, which may be increased up to $2 billion. At closing, the existing $800 million unsecured credit facility was retired in full.
• On October 22, 2015, the board of directors approved an estimated value per share of common stock of $10.40.
• On November 5, 2015, the REIT redeemed the remaining outstanding preferred units with an affiliate of Starwood Property Trust, in which Starwood previously provided a $250 million equity investment.
• On December 11, 2015, the REIT acquired a three-property portfolio, which includes two single-tenant office properties in Fort Worth, Texas and one single-tenant warehouse/distribution center in Jacksonville, Florida, at a purchase price of $93.6 million. The company also assumed three property mortgage loans totaling $54.7 million, with fixed interest rates ranging from 4.70 percent to 6.08 percent and maturing from July 2016 to September 2023.
Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT owns a portfolio of 75 office and industrial distribution properties. The REIT’s sponsor, Griffin Capital Corporation, is a privately-owned investment and asset management company headquartered in Los Angeles. As of March 1, 2016, Griffin Capital and its affiliates currently
own, manage, sponsor and/or co-sponsor a portfolio consisting of approximately 36 million square feet of space, located in 29 states and the United Kingdom, representing approximately $6.3 billion in asset value.
