Corporate Office Properties Trust (
OFC
),
a real estate investment trust (REIT), has recently priced a public
offering of 7.5 million shares at $24.75 each to enhance its
liquidity. The company has also decided to grant the underwriters a
30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1.12 million shares
to cover any over-allotment options.
Corporate Office Properties intends to utilize the net proceeds
from the offering to repay debt outstanding on its unsecured
revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes.
Wells Fargo Securities LLC, part of
Wells Fargo & Company (
WFC
)
; J.P. Morgan, part of
JP Morgan Chase & Co (
JPM
);
Barclays, part of
Barclays, PLC (
BCS
)
; are the joint book running managers for the offering.
As of June 30, 2012, Corporate Office Properties had a total
market capitalization of $4.4 billion, with $2.2 billion in debt
outstanding. Debt-to-total market capitalization ratio stood at
50%. In August 2012, the company entered into a $120 million term
loan agreement with the option to expand the amount to a maximum of
$200 million. The loan had a seven-year term and a variable
interest rate of LIBOR plus 2.10% to 2.60%.
Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, Corporate Office Properties
engages in the acquisition, development, ownership, management and
lease of suburban office properties. It focuses primarily on
serving the specialized tenant requirements of U.S. Government and
Defense Information Technology tenants.
The company acquires and leases office and data center properties
that are concentrated in large office parks, largely located
adjacent to government demand drivers and in strong markets that
possess growth opportunities. As of June 30, 2012, the company's
consolidated portfolio consists of 228 office properties spanning
19.8 million rentable square feet.
Corporate Office Properties currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank,
which translates into a short-term Hold rating.
BARCLAY PLC-ADR (BCS): Free Stock Analysis
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JPMORGAN CHASE (JPM): Free Stock Analysis
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CORP OFFICE PTY (OFC): Free Stock Analysis
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WELLS FARGO-NEW (WFC): Free Stock Analysis
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