NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA-GMH Communities Trust has completed the previously announced acquisition of 10 student housing properties from Birmingham, AL-based Capstone Development Corp. An 11th property, included in the purchase price of about $223 million, will close in the fourth quarter pending Capstone's payment of an existing loan.
The properties, each in a different state, contain an aggregate of 2,214 units with 7,194 beds, which puts the price tag at $100,722 a unit or $30,998 per bed. The University Crossings assets all sit within close proximity to the campuses they serve.
The portfolio includes the following: 242 units, 772 beds in Athens, GA; 134 units, 532 beds in Baton Rouge, LA; 252 units, 792 beds in Bloomington, IN; 206 units, 700 beds in Columbia, SC; 222 units, 654 beds in East Lansing, MI; 252 units, 696 beds in Eugene, OR; 182 units, 676 beds in Lexington, KY; 122 units, 484 beds in Oxford, OH; 156 units, 480 beds in Starkville, MS, and 192 units, 676 beds in Tuscaloosa, AL. The 11th property contains 254 units, 732 beds in Urbana, IL. The portfolio has an average occupancy rate of 96% for the 2006-07 academic year.
The initial agreement, struck with Capstone in June, covered 13 properties for about $247 million. A GMH spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com that two assets in the original portfolio did not meet GMH's requirements.
Calling the portfolio "a strategic acquisition," John DeRiggi, president of the GMH student housing division, says in a press release that "the assets fit well within our existing portfolio. Capstone increases the size of our owned portfolio to 76 assets containing approximately 46,000 beds."
The student housing division of locally based GMH is funding a portion of the acquisition with borrowings from its previously announced $250-million credit facility from Wachovia Bank. In addition, it is placing about $173.4 million in 10-year, interest-only mortgage indebtedness on the 11 properties at a fixed interest rate of 5.84%.
According to GMH's SEC filing, the six-month credit facility provides for one of two extension options. One is a three-month extension in the event that GMH has entered into an agreement relating to a merger or sale of substantially all assets. The other is a six-month extension subject to payment of a fee equal to 2% of the outstanding principal balance as of the initial maturity date or the option-one maturity date. According to the filing, the maturity date of the credit facility will not extend beyond Oct. 2, 2007. A GMH special committee is exploring a potential full or partial sale of the company.
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