DDR Drops Plans for $890M Joint Venture

CLEVELAND-In another cancellation of a large deal, locally-based Developers Diversified Realty has said a promise to sell 13 assets to a joint venture with an unnamed investor for $890 million has been called off. The move comes as firms not only cut back on future plans, but also have started backtracking and shutting down large deals that were currently in the works.

Officials with DDR did not offer any reasons why the deal is dead. Company officials said in a statement that they continue “to engage in active discussions with the institutional investor concerning assets which might be included in a potential transaction in 2009.” A company spokesman did not return a call for comment.

The sale was supposed to include almost six million square feet of properties, with DDR ending up owning 20% and the partner owning 80%, and was supposed to decrease leverage and fund other possible capital expenditures with better upsides. David Oakes, EVP of finance and CIO with DDR, said in the statement that the company is disappointed. “We continue to access many sources of capital in order to meet our goals of improving our liquidity and lowering our leverage.”