Essex Property Trust Sells Series F Preferred Stock to Pay Off Series C

PALO ALTO, CA-Locally based apartment REIT Essex Property Trust has sold one million shares of its Series F Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock at $24.664 apiece in order to cover the upcoming redemption of the Series C Preferred Units of Essex Portfolio LP, of which Essex is the general partner.

The Series F Preferred Stock, which was sold to Lend Lease Rosen Real Estate Securities, LLC, as agent for its clients, will pay quarterly distributions at the rate of about 7.8% per year and will be redeemable by the company on or after Sept. 23, 2008. The Series C Units become redeemable on Nov. 24, 2003, at a price per unit of $50.00 plus accumulated and unpaid distributions, at the rate of about 9.1% per year.

In the meantime, Essex says it will use the estimated $24 million in net proceeds to repay existing indebtedness under its $185 million line of credit, which matures in May 2004. As of Sept. 23, Essex had $147.7 million outstanding under the line of credit, which bore interest at a rate of approximately 2.5% per year. Essex says that when it redeems the Series C Units, it “may use funds drawn from this line of credit or possibly from other sources.”