In 2010 the real estate investment trust sector jolted back to life. Market capitalization spiked 44 percent, to $389 billion–driven both by rising share prices and $47.5 billion in new capital (an increase from the $34.7 billion raised in 2009)–from public markets. Attorneys played a key role in funneling this new money, which came in the form of $26.3 billion from 108 follow-on offerings and $2 billion from nine initial public offerings, into the industry. Last year the sector also raised $19.2 billion from 56 unsecured debt offerings, according to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.
In total there were 173 initial, follow-on, and debt offerings in the REIT sector in 2010, which represents a 33 percent increase from 2009. “Public REITs were successful in 2010 in repositioning their balance sheets by raising capital through secondary offerings, selling assets, and paying off debt,” says Edward Schneidman, a partner at Mayer Brown, which has represented the industrial space REIT ProLogis in several deals over the years.
