Corporate Office Properties to Spend $362.5M For 55 Properties

Columbia, Md.-based Corporate Office Properties Trust today announced an agreement to acquire 55 office properties and 187 acres for $362.5 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

All of the properties are in Maryland. Thirty-six of the properties are located in the White Marsh area of Northern Baltimore County, along with 175 acres. White Marsh is situated just off of Interstate 95 about 18 miles south of Aberdeen Proving Ground, a U. S. Army Base. According to the SEC statement, the proximity of the White Marsh properties to Aberdeen will benefit existing and prospective tenants involved in the defense industry.

The remaining properties are located in other parts of Northern Baltimore County and in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. Corridor.

The acquisition will add 2 million square feet to COPT's development capacity.

COPT will fund the transaction by issuing $173.8 million in preferred and common stock; assuming $144 million in exiting mortgages and loans; about $2 million in cash, and the remainder through the company's revolving credit line. Following the close of the transaction, the company will repay some of the debt with its revolving credit facility.

The transaction will boost the company's holdings to 244 office properties spanning approximately 18.2 million square feet.