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Kimco Realty (KIM) Announces Strategic Merger with Weingarten Realty Investors (WRI)

April 15, 2021 6:32 AM EDT

Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM), one of North America’s largest publicly traded owners and operators of open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use assets, and Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE: WRI), a grocery-anchored Sun Belt shopping center owner, manager and developer, today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Weingarten will merge with and into Kimco, with Kimco continuing as the surviving public company. The transaction brings together two industry-leading retail real estate platforms with highly complementary portfolios, creating the preeminent open-air shopping center and mixed-use real estate owner in the country. The increased scale in targeted growth markets, coupled with a broader pipeline of redevelopment opportunities, positions the company to create significant value for its shareholders. The combined company is expected to have a pro forma equity market capitalization of approximately $12.0 billion and a pro forma total enterprise value of approximately $20.5 billion.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, each Weingarten common share will be converted into 1.408 newly issued shares of Kimco common stock plus $2.89 in cash. Based on the closing stock price for Kimco on April 14, 2021, this represents a total consideration of approximately $30.32 per Weingarten share. On a pro forma basis, following the closing of the transaction, Kimco shareholders are expected to own approximately 71% of the combined company’s equity, and Weingarten shareholders are expected to own approximately 29%. The parties currently expect the transaction to close during the second half of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of both Kimco and Weingarten shareholders. This strategic transaction was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of Kimco and the Board of Trust Managers of Weingarten.

The merger will create a national operating portfolio of 559 open-air grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use assets comprising approximately 100 million square feet of gross leasable area. These properties are primarily concentrated in the top major metropolitan markets in the United States. The combined company is expected to benefit from increased scale and density in key Sun Belt markets, enhanced asset quality, tenant diversity, a larger redevelopment pipeline and a deleveraged balance sheet. As a result, the combined company should be uniquely positioned to drive further sustained growth in net operating income (NOI) and asset value creation through continued strategic leasing and asset management.

“This business combination is highly strategic, creating a stronger platform that is even more capable of delivering long-term growth and value creation,” said Conor Flynn, Kimco’s Chief Executive Officer. “Not only will the merged company and its shareholders enjoy a larger, higher quality, more diversified portfolio with significant embedded growth opportunities, the transaction also reduces the combined company’s leverage, creating a stronger financial profile. This combination reflects our conviction in the grocery-anchored shopping center category, which has performed well throughout the pandemic and provides last mile locations that are more valuable than ever due to their hybrid role as both shopping destinations and omnichannel fulfillment epicenters. It also gives us even greater density in the Sun Belt markets we are targeting as well as visibility into the trends shaping necessity-based retail.”

Andrew “Drew” Alexander, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Weingarten, stated, “Combining these highly complementary platforms is a win-win for shareholders of both companies. After examining the deal from every angle, it became increasingly clear that the potential of the integrated business is much greater than the sum of its parts. The combined company’s increased size and scale, together with its financial strength, should drive an advantageous cost of capital, allowing the combined company to more readily pursue value creation opportunities. We are excited to deliver this transaction to our shareholders, who will realize compelling and immediate value while also benefiting from the upside potential associated with owning the industry’s preeminent open-air shopping center and mixed-use REIT.”

Summary of Strategic Benefits

The merger of Kimco and Weingarten is expected to create a number of operational and financial benefits, including:

  • Enhanced Asset Diversification and Quality: Adding Weingarten’s collection of 159 high-quality, open-air grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use properties advances Kimco’ strategy of providing tenants and shoppers with greater last-mile fulfillment opportunities.
  • Expanded Geographic Reach in High-Growth, First-Ring Suburbs of Core Markets: The transaction will grow Kimco’s presence in strategic Sun Belt markets such as Houston, Miami, Phoenix, Atlanta and Orlando, boasting positive demographic and migration trends along with strong growth prospects. The Sun Belt and high-barrier-to-entry top coastal markets will represent more than 82% of the combined company’s total annualized base rent (ABR).
  • Greater Tenant Diversity: The combined company’s top ten tenants are essential, industry-leading grocers such as Kroger, Whole Foods and Walmart and best-in-class retailers such as TJX, Ross Stores and Burlington. These brands will represent approximately 19.3% of total ABR, with no single tenant representing more than approximately 4%.
  • Compelling Value Creation Pipeline: The combination of Weingarten’s largely funded and de-risked development pipeline, together with Kimco’s significant redevelopment projects and entitlements embedded in its existing portfolio, present compelling future growth opportunities. Most of these projects are located in markets where Kimco has an existing presence.
  • Substantial Operational Savings and Corporate Synergies: The combined company is expected to realize annualized cost synergies of $35 to $38 million on a GAAP basis (excluding accounting adjustments) and $31 to $34 million on a cash basis. These expected savings are attributable to both companies’ complementary business operations and significant regional overlap in high-growth Sun Belt markets where economies of scale can be realized. These synergies are expected to be substantially realized in the first full fiscal year post completion of the transaction.
  • Earnings Accretion and NOI Growth Opportunities: Upon closing, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings metrics. The combined company is also well positioned to increase cash flow at the property level by marking rents to market rates, realizing contractual rent increases, re-merchandising, growing portfolio occupancy and pursuing new value creation opportunities.
  • Increased Financial Strength and Flexibility: The business combination will further strengthen Kimco’s balance sheet by reducing net debt plus preferred to EBITDA. As a larger, lower leveraged company, Kimco is expected to have more cost-effective access to capital and benefit from earnings enhancement as existing debt matures in the coming years. This improved credit profile and greater liquidity put Kimco on a path toward potential future credit ratings upgrades.

Leadership and Organization

The combined company is committed to retaining a strong, highly qualified and diverse Board that has the requisite skills, knowledge and experience to oversee the company and its long-term strategic growth and performance. The number of directors on Kimco’s Board of Directors will be expanded to nine, with one member of the existing Board of Trust Managers of Weingarten to be appointed to the Kimco Board. Milton Cooper will continue to serve as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the combined company. Mary Hogan Preusse will continue to serve as Lead Independent Director for the combined company.

The Kimco management team will lead the combined company, with Conor Flynn as Chief Executive Officer, Ross Cooper as President and Chief Investment Officer, David Jamieson as Chief Operating Officer and Glenn G. Cohen as Chief Financial Officer. The approach to integration planning will draw from the best practices of both companies to ensure continuity for tenants, employees and other stakeholders.

Upon completion of the merger, the company’s headquarters will remain in Jericho, N.Y. The company will retain the Kimco name and will continue to trade under the ticker symbol KIM (NYSE).

Dividend Policy

Kimco intends to maintain its current dividend level post-closing.

First Quarter Update

During the first quarter of 2021, Kimco executed 358 leases totaling 2.8 million square feet which includes 121 new leases for 586,000 square feet. Pro-rata rental rate spreads on comparable leases increased 6.8%, with rental rates for new leases up 8.2% and renewals and options growing by a combined 6.4%. Kimco ended the quarter with a pro-rata occupancy of 93.5% with anchor and small shop occupancy at 96.2% and 85.8%, respectively. For the first quarter of 2021, Kimco collected 94% of its total pro-rata billed base rents.

Advisors

Barclays and Lazard are acting as financial advisors, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as legal advisor to Kimco. J.P. Morgan is acting as exclusive financial advisor, and Dentons is acting as legal advisor to Weingarten.



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