Liberty Targets Debt With $300M in Senior Notes

MALVERN, PA-Liberty Property Trust has sold $300 million of 10-year senior unsecured notes through its subsidiary, Liberty Property Limited Partnership. The 5.5% notes, due Dec. 15, 2016, were priced to yield 5.6%.

According to an SEC filing, there were eight underwriters. Bank of America Securities LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co., and JP Morgan Securities Inc. each purchased a principal amount of $90 million. The five additional underwriters, each buying a principal amount of $6 million, are: CitiGroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities USA LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., UBS Securities LLC and Wachovia Capital Markets LLC.

The notes are rated Baa2 by Moody’s Investor Service, BBB by Standard & Poor’s, and BBB+ by Fitch Ratings. They were issued in denominations of $2,000 and multiples of $1,000, and they are not convertible into or exchangeable for partnership interests or common shares of the locally based REIT.

Liberty will use the proceeds to repay outstanding debt under the company’s unsecured credit facility and for general corporate purposes. Liberty’s portfolio consists of more than 700 properties aggregating approximately 65 million sf of office, warehouse and distribution facilities. During a third-quarter conference call, Bill Hankowsky, chairman and CEO, reported that the portfolio was 93.1% occupied, up from 91.9% for the same period a year ago.

At mid-day Dec. 18, shares of the company’s common stock traded at $49.60 a share on the New York Stock Exchange. The 52-week low of $41.07 a share occurred on May 24, and the 52-week high of $52.40 a share was reached on Dec. 5.