Contract
Exhibit 99.1
American Assets Trust, Inc. Enters into Agreement to Acquire “City Center Bellevue” Trophy Office Tower in Bellevue, Washington
Company Release – 7/30/12
SAN DIEGO – American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AAT) (the “Company”) has entered into an agreement to acquire “City Center Bellevue,” a 27-story trophy LEED-EB Gold certified office tower consisting of approximately 497,000 square feet, located in the heart of Bellevue’s Central Business District at 000 000xx Xxxxxx XX, Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx.
The purchase price is approximately $229 million, to be paid with a combination of cash on hand and funds drawn against the Company’s existing credit facility. The Company intends to place mortgage financing on City Center Bellevue at, or subsequent to, closing.
City Center Bellevue offers outstanding panoramic views of Mount Rainier, Lake Washington, the Cascade and Olympic Mountains and the Seattle skyline.
City Center Bellevue’s central location provides tenants with convenient access to downtown amenities, the freeway and public transportation. The Company expects that upon closing approximately 92% of City Center Bellevue’s rentable square feet will be leased. Major tenants at City Center Bellevue include Caradigm, HDR Engineering, Inc., Intelius, Inc., Sucker Punch Productions, LLC, Global Scholar, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc. and Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx.
“The greater Seattle area, Bellevue in particular, has been a target investment region for the Company and its predecessor for many years. We are extremely pleased with the pending acquisition of City Center Bellevue and our eventual entry into this highly constrained market. We expect that our efforts will enable us to continue to expand our presence in the area,” said Xxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxxx, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and President.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. The Company can offer no assurances that this acquisition will close on the terms described herein, or at all.
The transaction is being structured to accommodate a possible tax deferred exchange pursuant to the provisions of Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and applicable state revenue and taxation code sections.
About American Assets Trust, Inc.
The Company is a full service, vertically integrated and self-administered real estate investment trust, or REIT, headquartered in San Diego, California. For over 40 years, the Company has been acquiring, improving, developing and managing premier retail, office and residential properties throughout the United States in some of the nation’s most dynamic, high-barrier-to-entry markets primarily in Southern California, Northern California, Oregon and Hawaii. The Company’s retail portfolio comprises approximately 3.0 million rentable square feet, and its office portfolio comprises approximately 2.3 million square feet. In addition the Company owns one mixed-use property (including approximately 97,000 rentable square feet of retail space and a 369-room all-suite hotel) and over 900 multifamily units. In 2011, the Company was formed to succeed to the real estate business of American Assets, Inc., a privately held corporation founded in 1967 and, as such, has significant experience, long-standing relationships and extensive knowledge of its core markets, submarkets and asset classes. For additional information, please visit xxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” or “potential” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters. While forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, they are not guarantees of future performance. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause the Company’s future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed on March 9, 2012 and other risks described in documents subsequently filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes.
Source: American Assets Trust, Inc.
Investor and Media Contact:
American Assets Trust
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
000-000-0000
