Michelle Napoli is editor of Net Leaseforum, from which this article is excerpted.

Oak Brook, IL—Inland American Real Estate TrustInc., based here, is buying 216 properties in a sale-leasebackwith SunTrust Banks Inc. According to a Securities andExchange Commission filing by the REIT, the 1.15 million sfportfolio consists of eight office buildings and 208 single-tenantretail banking facilities. Located in eight states and the Districtof Columbia, the properties are garnering an all-cash price of$374.9 million.

As part of the agreement, Atlanta-based SunTrust will net leaseback all of the retail facilities for 10 years, with the option torenew the leases for another 10 years and then six additionalfive-year periods. The biggest geographic concentration in theportfolio is in Florida, where there are 77 properties. Theportfolio's average base rental income to Inland American will beapproximately $27 million, with the lease terms including a 1.75%annual base rent increase. SunTrust announced in June that itplanned to pursue a sale-leaseback strategy for nearly 475properties in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, including 48 officebuildings and the rest retail branches.