Liberty Property Trust Completes Purchase of Operating Partnership of Cabot Industrial Value Fund III

MALVERN, Pa., Oct. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY) announced that its previously announced acquisition of the operating partnership of Cabot Industrial Value Fund III was completed today for a purchase price of $1.475 billion.

The transaction has increased Liberty's industrial platform by approximately 23 million square feet and added 177 properties in 24 new and existing Liberty industrial markets.  Approximately 58% of the total portfolio is located in existing Liberty industrial markets, including Chicago, South Florida, Houston, New Jersey, Maryland and Central Pennsylvania.  

The remaining approximately 10 million square feet are located in 10 markets in which Liberty does not currently have a presence, including Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth and Southern California, which combined comprise 21% of the Cabot square footage.

The acquisition was funded through a combination of sources including proceeds of $834.1 million from an offering of 24,150,000 common shares, proceeds from the offering of $450 million of 4.40% senior notes due 2024 and the assumption of $230 million in mortgage debt.

The assets acquired by Liberty are in the following markets:

About Liberty Property Trust
Liberty is a leader in commercial real estate, serving customers in the United States and United Kingdom, through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of superior office and industrial properties.  Liberty's 106 million square foot portfolio consists of 843 properties providing office, distribution and light manufacturing facilities to 2,100 tenants. 

About Cabot Properties, Inc.
Cabot Properties is a private real estate investment firm based in Boston. The firm is a leading investor, developer and operator of industrial properties throughout North America and the United Kingdom.

Forward Looking Statement
The statements in this release, as well as information included in oral statements, contain statements that are or will be forward-looking. These forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates," "should," "seeks," "intends," "proposed," "planned," "outlook" and "goal" or similar expressions. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, the company can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. As forward-looking statements, these statements involve important risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expected results and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of the company. The company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, without limitation, uncertainties affecting real estate business generally (such as entry into new leases, renewals of leases and dependence on tenants' business operations), risks relating to the integration of the operations of entities that we have acquired or may acquire, risks relating to financing arrangements and sales of securities, possible environmental liabilities, risks relating to leverage and debt service (including availability of financing terms acceptable to the company and sensitivity of the company's operations and financing arrangements to fluctuations in interest rates), dependence on the primary markets in which the company's properties are located, the existence of complex regulations relating to status as a REIT and the adverse consequences of the failure to qualify as a REIT, risks relating to litigation, including without limitation litigation involving entities that we have a acquired or may acquire, and the potential adverse impact of market interest rates on the market price for the company's securities.

SOURCE Liberty Property Trust