Spirit MTA REIT Closes on $215M in Corporate Financing Deals
The largest transaction—a $165-million non-recourse mortgage loan—is collateralized by 85 assets owned by subsidiaries of SMTA and leased to Shopko that are held outside of the company’s Master Trust.
DALLAS—Spirit MTA REIT (SMTA) reports it has closed two critical financial transactions totaling $215 million.
The largest transaction—a $165-million non-recourse mortgage loan—is collateralized by 85 assets owned by subsidiaries of SMTA and leased to Shopko that are held outside of the company’s Master Trust.
The Dallas-based net lease REIT also closed on a $50-million variable funding note, which provides SMTA with an additional source of liquidity and allows for more efficient management of the ABS liabilities within its Master Trust, the company states.
“With the non-recourse Shopko financing, we were able to realize immediate cash value for our Shopko assets, while significantly de-risking our exposure. We believe this financing serves to protect shareholder value by securing a floor value for Shopko assets while allowing us to realize incremental proceeds from future sales,” SMTA CEO, CFO and treasurer Ricardo Rodriguez states.
He adds that the $50-million variable funding note provides the company with substantial funding flexibility, similar to a “corporate revolver, allowing us to reduce some of the impact of scheduled principal amortizations in the Master Trust while providing a source of liquidity to the company. With the closing of these two financings, we have meaningfully enhanced the capital position and financial flexibility of SMTA less than five months after our inception,” Rodriguez notes.
Total proceeds from the non-recourse mortgage loan after fees, expenses and required reserves were $141.9 million. The loan is fully pre-payable, in whole or in part, and bears interest at a rate of one-month LIBOR plus 750 basis points, with required scheduled principal amortization payments of $1 million per month. The initial term is one year with two one-year extension options, subject to certain conditions. The company’s subsidiaries maintain their ability to continue selling Shopko assets, which can be released from the collateral pool subject to satisfying certain allocated loan amount repayments, the company states.
The variable funding note has a term of three years, is rated A+ by S&P and carries a funding rate of 210 basis points over the institutional lender’s specified rate that generally tracks LIBOR. The variable funding note is non-recourse to SMTA, and is pari-passu with existing Class A notes outstanding under the Master Trust ABS program. The note provides SMTA with up to $50 million in capacity that can be used to warehouse new acquisitions, partially offset Master Trust scheduled principal amortizations and for general corporate purposes.
SMTA is managed by Spirit Realty Capital, L.P., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Spirit, one of the largest publicly traded triple net-lease REITs. SMTA was spun off from Spirit Realty Capital earlier this year.
As of June 30, 2018, SMTA’s diversified portfolio was comprised of 888 properties, including properties securing mortgage loans made by the company. The properties, with an aggregate gross leasable area of approximately 20 million square feet, are leased to approximately 205 tenants across 45 states and 23 industries.