DDR Completes $402M of Transactions in the First Quarter 2015

DDR Corp. (NYSE: DDR) today announced that it closed on the acquisition of one shopping center valued at $49 million and the disposition of 31 assets totaling $353 million at 100% ownership, or $153 million at the Company's share, during the first quarter of 2015. Included in the total transactional activity for the quarter is the final dissolution of the Company's joint venture with Coventry Real Estate Advisors ("Coventry"). DDR transferred to Coventry its 20% interest in 21 of the joint venture's remaining 22-asset portfolio, valued at $49 million at the Company's share, and concurrently eliminated the Company's $36 million of pro rata joint venture debt. DDR had no GAAP economic interest in 18 of the 22 assets at the time of dissolution. In exchange for its interest in the portfolio, Coventry transferred to DDR its 80% interest in Buena Park Place, a 223,000-square-foot power center located in Orange County, California, valued at $39 million, and concurrently retired $26 million of debt that was secured by the asset. In accordance with the transaction, all charges in the associated lawsuits have been dismissed.In addition to the dissolution of DDR's former joint venture with Coventry, the Company also sold 10 assets totaling $104 million at the Company's share. DDR is under contract to sell an additional seven assets totaling $80 million at the Company's share.Luke J. Petherbridge, chief financial officer of DDR, commented, "We are pleased to report another strong quarter of transactional activity that included a high-quality acquisition in a top MSA, the sale of another 31 lower-quality assets, and the wind down of our 15th joint venture in the last four years. The current pricing environment has allowed us to continue to accelerate our portfolio transformation, and given the robust demand for shopping centers, we expect our disposition activity to exceed our acquisition activity in the first half of 2015. To capitalize on this trend, we are actively reviewing additional assets for sale sooner than previously expected."