American Finance Trust to Acquire Retail Portfolio for $1.3B
The company is rebranding into a new retail REIT and will trade under the new ticker RTL.
American Finance Trust is set to acquire a portfolio of 81 multi-tenant power anchored and grocery centers in a deal with CIM Real Estate Finance Trust for $1.3 billion.
AFT also simultaneously announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to dispose of a non-core portfolio of three office buildings leased to Sanofi S.A. for $261 million. Both deals are expected to close during the first quarter of 2022.
“This immediately accretive off-market transaction represents a unique value creation opportunity. We are adding significant scale while further enhancing our best-in-class portfolio with pandemic-tested assets on accretive terms,” said Michael Weil, CEO of AFIN.
American Finance Trust will rebrand as Necessity Retail REIT | Where America Shops, focusing on such brands as Wal-Mart and Publix, he also said.
The rebranded REIT will trade under the new ticker RTL. Its portfolio will comprise over 1,000 properties, 29 million square feet and $382 million in annualized straight-line rent.
AFT said it expects to fund the acquisition through a combination of cash and other debt vehicles, including the anticipated $261 million of proceeds from the sale of its Sanofi office asset.