Business and Finance Business and Finance
Thu, September 27, 2012

Franklin Street Properties Corp. Announces $900 Million Unsecured Credit Facility With a Fixed Rate Component


Published on 2012-09-27 10:45:56 - Market Wire
  Print publication without navigation


September 27, 2012 13:32 ET

Franklin Street Properties Corp. Announces $900 Million Unsecured Credit Facility With a Fixed Rate Component

WAKEFIELD, MA--(Marketwire - Sep 27, 2012) - Franklin Street Properties Corp. (the "Company", "FSP", "our" or "we") (NYSE MKT: [ FSP ]), an investment firm specializing in real estate, today announced the closing of an unsecured credit facility comprised of both a revolving line of credit and a term loan with a group of banks (the "New Facility"). The total availability under the revolving line of credit portion of the New Facility is $500 million and the total amount under the term loan portion of the New Facility is $400 million. The revolving line of credit portion of the New Facility also includes an accordion feature that allows for up to $250 million of additional borrowing capacity subject to receipt of lender commitments and satisfaction of certain customary conditions. As part of the closing, the Company's $600 million revolving credit facility that was scheduled to mature on February 22, 2014 was amended and restated in its entirety and the $482 million in advances outstanding under that revolving credit facility were repaid from the proceeds of the New Facility ($400 million under the term loan and $82 million under the revolving line of credit). The revolving line of credit portion of the New Facility has an initial term of four years that matures on September 27, 2016 and also has a one-year extension option. The term loan portion of the New Facility has a term of five years that matures on September 27, 2017. The New Facility bears interest at either (i) a LIBOR based rate plus 135 to 190 basis points depending on the Company's total leverage ratio at the time of the borrowing (LIBOR plus 145 basis points at September 27, 2012) or (ii) a rate equal to the bank's base rate plus 35 to 90 basis points depending on the Company's total leverage ratio at the time of the borrowing (the bank's base rate plus 45 basis points at September 27, 2012). The New Facility also obligates the Company to pay an annual facility fee of 20 to 40 basis points depending on the Company's total leverage ratio (30 basis points at September 27, 2012). The facility fee is assessed against the total amount of the New Facility, or $900 million. Although the interest rate on the New Facility is variable, the Company elected to fix the base LIBOR interest rate on the $400 million term loan portion of the New Facility at 0.75% per annum for five years by entering into an interest rate swap. Accordingly, based upon the Company's total leverage ratio, as of September 27, 2012, the interest rate on the revolving line of credit portion of the New Facility was 1.67% per annum and the interest rate on the term loan portion of the New Facility was 2.20% per annum.

George Carter, President and Chief Executive Officer of FSP, said, "We proactively decided to increase the size of our credit facility from $600 million to $900 million with an additional $250 million accordion feature to assist us in our continuing growth plans. In addition, current market conditions allowed us to fix the base LIBOR interest rate at 0.75% per annum for five years on the term loan and to secure a lower spread over the base LIBOR interest rate on both the revolving line of credit and the term loan. We are pleased to put this unsecured credit facility in place and appreciate the confidence shown in FSP by each of the participating banks."

Bank of America, N.A. is serving as Administrative Agent for the New Facility. FSP was represented by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and Bank of America, N.A. was represented by Goulston & Storrs PC. Participating banks include:

Name of Institution Title
Bank of America, N.A. Administrative Agent
RBS Citizens, National Association Syndication Agent
Regions Bank Syndication Agent
Bank of Montreal Syndication Agent
BBVA Compass Documentation Agent
PNC Bank, National Association  Documentation Agent
U.S. Bank National Association  Lender
Capital One, N.A. Lender
TD Bank, N.A. Lender
Branch Banking and Trust Company Lender

About Franklin Street Properties Corp.

Franklin Street Properties Corp., based in Wakefield, Massachusetts, is focused on achieving current income and long-term growth through investments in commercial properties. The majority of FSP's property portfolio is suburban office buildings, with select investments in certain central business district properties. FSP is a Maryland corporation that operates in a manner intended to qualify as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes. To learn more about FSP please visit our website at [ www.franklinstreetproperties.com ].

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this press release that state FSP's or management's intentions, beliefs, expectations, or predictions for the future may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release may also contain forward-looking statements based on current judgments and current knowledge of management, which are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that our forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty, including without limitation, economic conditions in the United States, disruptions in the debt markets, economic conditions in the markets in which we own properties, risks of a lessening of demand for the types of real estate owned by us, changes in government regulations, geopolitical events and expenditures that cannot be anticipated such as utility rate and usage increases, unanticipated repairs, additional staffing, insurance increases and real estate tax valuation reassessments. See the "Risk Factors" set forth in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, as the same may be updated from time to time in subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. We will not update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform them to actual results or to changes in our expectations that occur after such date, other than as required by law.


Contributing Sources