Cedar Exits Retail JV with RioCan

PORT WASHINGTON, NY-Locally based retail REIT Cedar Realty Trust said Thursday afternoon that it’s exiting its three-year-old joint venture with RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust. Under terms of the agreement between the two REITs, Cedar will acquire RioCan’s ownership in a Massachusetts shopping center and sell its 20% ownership in the JV’s remaining properties.

Cedar (formerly known as Cedar Shopping Centers) is now taking 100% ownership of Franklin Village Plaza, a grocery-anchored 304,347-square-foot shopping center in Franklin, MA for about $60.1 million including the assumption of $34.7 million of in-place mortgage financing. Its sale to Toronto-based RioCan of a 20% interest in 21 other properties across six states entails RioCan paying $119.5 million, including the assumption of $54.4 million in debt. When the debt assumptions and Cedar’s acquisition of Franklin Village are factored in, the deal comes out to $39 million in cash paid by RioCan to Cedar.