Shopping Center Business

DEC 2016

Shopping Center Business is the leading monthly business magazine for the retail real estate industry.

Issue link: http://shoppingcenterbusiness.epubxp.com/i/752067

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 142 of 160

SHOPCORE 136 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • December 2016 S hopCore Properties will have much to celebrate come New Year's Eve. Over the past 15 months, the San Di- ego-based, retail-focused REIT (formerly Excel Trust) found a new home, a new leader and surpassed $5 billion worth of assets — not bad for a company that raised just $210 million through its initial public offering (IPO) and subsequent list- ing. With no legacy assets, ShopCore's predecessor, Excel Trust, was organized on Dec. 25, 2009, setting its acquisition strategies in place and completing its ini- tial common stock offering on April 28, 2010. The company surpassed $1 billion in assets in 2012, less than three years after its IPO. Then Blackstone stepped in. The in- vestment mega-firm purchased Excel for about $2 billion in cash on April 10, 2015, paying $15.85 per share, representing a premium of about 15 percent over the company's April 9 closing price. At the time, the company l owned and managed about 38 retail assets totaling 7.2 million square feet, with a focus on necessi- ty-based tenants, including grocers, drug- stores and department stores. Blackstone Group LP followed this purchase up with another acquisition, nabbing 49 U.S. shop- ping centers from To- ronto-based RioCan Real Estate Invest- ment Trust for $1.9 billion in December 2015. This massive re- tail infusion allowed Blackstone's $2 billion purchase to bal- loon into a $5 billion entity with more than 80 assets in 19 states. It also allowed the company to inject new lifeblood in the form of a new CEO and president. Luke J. Petherbridge stepped into this role on April 28, 2016. The former CFO and treasurer of DDR Corp., Petherbridge brought with him a wealth of knowledge and experience that includes overseeing the execution of $5 billion of real estate transactions, raising more than $9 billion of long-term capital and supporting vari- ous strategic initiatives. The new parent company, new CEO and president and new acquisition strat- egies has inspired the new brand, Shop- Core , and Petherbridge couldn't be more excited to helm this new iteration — one he feels is very much deserved after a job well done. "When we sat down and looked at our firm ‚— we went from $2 billion to $5 bil- lion really quickly — we felt that warranted us having our own identity," he says. "We want to be best in class, a new large land- lord in this sector, and now is the right time to rebrand ourselves. It cuts away at the old historical ties of being a public company, and it felt like a good time to relaunch our brand, mission, focus." Shopcore: Excel Trust, Accelerated After an acquisition by Blackstone and the appointment of a new CEO and president, ShopCore has arrived. Nellie Day Petherbridge Whole Foods Market anchors Downtown at the Gardens in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Other tenants at the center include West Elm, Cobb 16 Theatres and The Cheesecake Factory.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Shopping Center Business - DEC 2016