Realty Income To Buy 12 UK Properties From British Land- Sainsbury JV

(RTTNews) - Realty Income Corp. (O) announced that it has agreed to acquire 12 properties located in the United Kingdom from a joint venture of affiliates of J Sainsbury PLC (JSAIY.PK, SBRY.L) and British Land Co Plc. (BRLAF, BTLCY, BLND.L). The deal is for 429 million pounds, and will be under long-term net lease agreements with Sainsbury's.

In a statement, British Land said its share of the proceeds will be 193.5 million pounds, while net proceeds are expected to be about 95 million following the repayment of debt and associated break costs. The company expects Retail business to comprise around 30-35% of the assets of its business, down from around half today. The transaction is expected to close on or around May 22, subject to customary closing conditions.

With the proposed sale-leaseback transaction, Realty Income said it is increasing 2019 AFFO per share guidance to $3.28 - $3.33 from earlier expected $3.25 - $3.31.

FFO per share is now expected to be $3.26 to $3.31, higher than previous estimate of $3.23 to $3.29.