In addition to the sales, Developers Diversified has continued to refinance loans, raising approximately $1.2 billion in new mortgages for both its wholly owned and joint venture portfolios this year. As a result, the company continues to expect to remain in compliance with all of its loan covenants and to have enough liquidity to meet near-term liabilities.

"We are pleased to have completed these liquidity enhancing transactions despite the challenges of the current environment. As we enter into 2009, we remain extremely focused on executing transactions that will further reduce our leverage and improve our liquidity," says David Oakes, Developers Diversified's senior executive vice president of finance and chief investment officer, in a statement.

Recently, the company drew down the first R$90 million of its R$112 million 8.5% fixed-rate, 12-year financing on a joint venture development in Brazil. It also has continued to refinance development loans, most recently upsizing a $19 million loan to $30 million. Approximately $43 million in proceeds from the sale of 8.6 million shares in December has been used to pay down debt, further reducing leverage.