MILL VALLEY, CA—Shares of Four Corners Property Trust, a REIT spun off by Darden Restaurants Inc., began trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. In connection with the spin-off, Four Corners has entered into a $750-million credit agreement with a group led by JPMorgan Chase as administrative agent.

Following the separation, which Orlando-based Darden first announced this past June, Four Corners has a 3.2-million-square-foot portfolio representing 424 Darden-branded restaurants across 44 states. About 2.5 million square feet of that portfolio is represented by Olive Garden locations, with the remainder comprised of LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52 and Wildfish Seafood Grille.

The newly independent REIT is leasing back 418 of those properties on a triple-net basis to Darden subsidiaries. The remaining six, a group of Longhorn Steakhouse restaurants in San Antonio, will be operated by a Four Corners subsidiary via a franchise agreement with Darden.

"We expect to grow and diversify our tenant base with high quality restaurant operators by becoming a preferred acquirer of restaurant and other food service related real estate," says Bill Lenehan, Four Corners' president and CEO. "This is a great day for Four Corners, and we look forward to a bright future."

When the plan to spin off a portion of Darden's real estate assets was first announced, CEO Eugene Lee said, "we believe this plan will result in a more optimized capital structure and will create long-term shareholder value. We appreciate the valuation differential between restaurant and real estate companies and are excited to create a new company, which we believe will unlock current value while growing through acquisitions of other properties."

In connection with the spin-off, Darden said Monday it has received cash proceeds of $315 million from Four Corners. The company plans to use those proceeds, along with cash on hand, to retire approximately $1 billion in debt in the near future.

Four Corners' credit facility consists of a five-year term loan facility of $400 million and a four-year revolving credit facility of $350 million. It includes an accordion feature to increase the credit facilities up to $1 billion in aggregate.

Darden was represented in the spin-off by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Hogan Lovells US LLP. JPMorgan and Moelis & Co. served as financial advisers. The two law firms also represented Four Corners in the spin-off; in addition to JPMorgan and Moelis, its financial advisors also included Green Street Advisors LLC. Morrison & Foerster represented JPMorgan in the $750-million financing associated with the spin-off.