Colonial Properties Gets New $320M Credit Line

BIRMINGHAM, AL-Gearing up for an expected strong acquisition mode in 2003, Birmingham, AL-based Colonial Properties Trust and its subsidiary, Colonial Realty LP, are replacing their $300 million revolving facility due April 2003 with a $320 million unsecured line of credit from a nine-member banking consortium headed by SouthTrust of Birmingham, AL, Wachovia of Charlotte and Wells Fargo of San Francisco.

The other lenders are AmSouth, Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T), Chevy Chase, Compass, Comerican, PNC and US Bank.

The competitive bid feature under the new facility has been increased by $10 million to $160 million, Colonial senior vice president Sandra Lee Robertson says in a prepared statement. The new financing package has a three-year term and a one-year extension period.

The interest rate is the LIBOR plus a spread calculated from a pricing grid based on the company’s unsecured debt ratings. Based on the company’s current ratings, the interest rate pricing has decreased by 10 basis points to LIBOR, plus 105 basis points, according to the statement.

Colonial Properties Trust’s common is trading on the New York Stock Exchange at about $33.58 per share.