Moody's Assigns Baa2 Rating with Stable Outlook to Retail Opportunity Investments Corp

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp.

announced today that Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Baa2 issuer rating to ROIC with a stable outlook. According to Moody's press release, the Baa2 issuer rating reflects ROIC's conservative capital structure and strong credit metrics including its high fixed charge coverage, low level of secured debt and large unencumbered asset base. Additionally, Moody's stated that ROIC's debt maturity schedule is well-laddered and its bank line availability and cash on hand covers the company's debt maturities through 2016. Moody's also noted that ROIC has stable cash flows driven by its core western markets and consistent occupancy rates. Stuart A. Tanz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. stated, "Achieving an investment grade rating has been one of our core objectives since commencing operations as a shopping center REIT in 2009. We are very pleased that our long-standing, prudent investment, property management and financing disciplines have earned us this important distinction." Tanz stated further, "Looking ahead, accessing the investment grade unsecured debt market will be a critical component of our long-term financing strategy that we believe will enhance our ability to continue consistently growing our portfolio