NEW YORK CITY – SL Green Realty Corp., a New York-based real estate investment trust specializing in office, has decided to bulk-up its share repurchase program, adding $500 million in common stock for a total of $3 billion.

The program is intended to create value for shareholders and coincides with the selling off of mature assets for new, high-quality assets. The REIT has narrowed its focus to acquiring Class A office assets while buying back the shares from the new premium properties at a discounted rate.

"We are moving aggressively to expand our successful share buyback program again to continue taking advantage of the gap between our net asset value and share price," said Marc Holliday, chairman and CEO of SL Green, in a prepared statement.

Since launching its share repurchase program, the REIT has repurchased 22,855,030 shares. In connection with real estate transactions, the REIT has redeemed 445,517 units from its operating partnerships.

According to a recent GlobeSt.com article, the SL Green portfolio has been in a state of transformation as the REIT sells off static assets to identify opportunities for reinvestment within the portfolio, according to Holliday on the October earnings call.

The outlined sales from its disposition list distinguishing non-core and mature assets were said to build upon the firm's profits and prices, which trump its stock valuation, according to Holliday.

"We are already at work on lining up additional sales of assets that don't meet our long-term plan, and we will provide more details on these planned dispositions," he said on the call at the time.

Assets for sale range from $500 million and less and are in the right ballpark to capitalize on the current market cycle, which SL Green views as healthy for favorable Midtown assets that can sell for $250 million in equity or less.

Instant Insights /

SL Green Plumps Up Budget for Share Repurchases

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