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CHATTANOOGA, TN-CBL & Associates Properties Inc. this week closed on $452 million in five new fixed-rate loans to pay off $289.5 million in loans that were maturing at higher interest rates and to pay down its lines of credit. CBL chief executive Charles Lebovitz says the the move will save the company money on interest and, by paying down credit lines, will provide the company with additional capcity to complete future acquisitions.
The seven loans being paid off had a weighted average interest rate of 7.0% and were maturing over the next 18-months. The new loans are ten-year non-recourse with a weighted average interest rate of 5.0%. CBL's IR director Katie Reinsmidt tells GlobeSt.com that as of June 30 the interest rate on its lines of credit were 4.26%.
The new loans are secured individually by Imperial Valley Mall in El Centro, CA; Brookfield Square in Brookfield, WI; East Town Mall in Madison; WI; West Town Mall in Madison, WI; and CherryVale Mall in Rockford, IL.
CBL will incur a one-time charge of approximately $5.4 million for prepayment penalties and the write-off of unamortized deferred financing costs. The charge will be included in GAAP Net Income and FFO in the fourth quarter 2005.
On Oct. 5, the company declared a special one-time cash dividend of 9 cents per share, payable on Jan. 16 to shareholders of record on Dec. 30. CBL says it is paying the special dividend because of taxable gains it earned from selling management and advisory contracts with Galileo America LLC.
The company's share price, which is falling for the fifth consecutive day, stood at $37.46 in noontime trading Friday, off $0.46. The company's share price closed at $40.99 on Sept. 30 and has been falling since that time.
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