Highwoods Properties Embarks on Divestiture Strategy
The REIT has a two-phase plan to sell assets in Greensboro, NC and Memphis.
MEMPHIS—Raleigh, NC-based Highwoods Properties, a publicly-traded REIT, has embarked on its two-phase plans of selling assets in Greensboro, North Carolina and Memphis with the sale of International Paper IV, a 248,000 square foot, single customer building in Memphis for $76.4 million. Highwoods expects to close on the sale of Atrium I and II, a two-building office complex encompassing 84,000 square feet, prior to Dec. 31 for $13.2 million. These office properties, located in Memphis, are a combined 96% occupied and are projected to generate $5.9 million of annual cash and GAAP net operating income in 2020.
“These sales are the first closings of our market rotation plan to exit the Greensboro and Memphis markets and reinvest that capital in the BBDs (best business district) of higher-growth markets such as Charlotte, said Ted Klinck, president and CEO of Highwoods Properties, in prepared remarks. “We are pleased with our progress to date and remain on track to complete the first phase by mid-2020.”
The sale of Atrium I and II is subject to customary closing conditions. The buyer’s contractual due diligence period has ended and the buyer has posted earnest money deposits that are non-refundable except in limited circumstances.
Highwood announced its plan to divest in the two cities in August, after agreeing to acquire Bank of America Tower at Legacy Union in the heart of Uptown CBD submarket for a total investment of $436 million. Bank of America Tower at Legacy Union is a LEED gold-registered office building encompassing 841,000 square feet with structured parking that delivers this year.
The first phase consists of selling a select portfolio of assets in Greensboro and Memphis by mid-2020 with a total sales price that approximates the $436 million total investment for Bank of America Tower at Legacy Union in Charlotte, which closed in November 2019.
The second phase is the planned sale of the remaining assets in Greensboro and Memphis. There is no pre-determined timetable for the second phase.
The company’s Greensboro assets consist of 2,672,000 square feet of industrial space, 1,151,000 square feet of office space and 30 acres of development land. The company’s Memphis assets consist of 1,656,000 square feet of office space.