NEW YORK, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Banyan Strategic Realty Trust
(Nasdaq: BSRTS) announced today that it has completed the sale of twenty-seven
of its properties to affiliates of Denholtz Management Corp. pursuant to a
contract entered into on January 8, 2001. The total sales price for the
twenty-seven properties was $185.25 million, of which $3 million was in the
form of promissory notes due June 30, 2002, and the remainder in cash.
Denholtz made an immediate pre-payment against the promissory notes in the
amount of $0.6 million.
Banyan indicated that the sale proceeds were used to retire $93.06 million
in debt and $4.85 million for prorations and transaction expenses. The
remaining proceeds of $84.34 million, including $1.5 million which is being
held in escrow for post-closing adjustments, will be available for general
corporate purposes, including the anticipated first liquidating distribution
to shareholders. Banyan announced that it intends to distribute between
$4.60 and $4.80 per share to shareholders within thirty days.
The transaction leaves Banyan with three real estate assets -- (i)
University Square in Huntsville, Alabama, which is under contract of sale to
Denholtz and is scheduled to close in December, 2001; (ii) 6901 Riverport
Drive in Louisville, which can be "put" to Denholtz upon 90 days notice and
(iii) The Northlake Festival Tower Shopping Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which
is subject to the same "put" provisions as the Riverport property.
L.G. Schafran, Banyan's Chairman and Interim Chief Executive
Officer/President, commented: "We are gratified to have completed the sale of
85% of our portfolio and to have achieved this major milestone in furthering
Banyan's announced plan of liquidation. We will now focus on marketing the
Riverport and Northlake properties and on the pending litigation with Leonard
G. Levine, Banyan's suspended president. We anticipate that the liquidation
will be completed when these matters have been resolved, and the purchase
money notes that are a part of the Denholtz transaction, have been paid in
full. However, we believe that interim liquidating distributions will be made
as these separate items are addressed and resolved. Absent extenuating
circumstances, we anticipate the plan of liquidation will be completed before
the end of 2002. We remain on target for total liquidating distributions of
approximately $6.00 per share."
Banyan Strategic Realty Trust is an equity Real Estate Investment Trust
(REIT) that, prior to this transaction, owned primarily office and
flex/industrial properties. The properties are located in certain major
metropolitan areas of the Midwest and Southeastern United States, including
Atlanta, Georgia and Chicago, Illinois, and smaller markets such as
Huntsville, Alabama; Louisville, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee; and Orlando,
Florida. As of this date Banyan has 15,488,137 shares of beneficial interest
outstanding.
Except for the historical information contained herein, certain matters
discussed in this release are forward-looking statements, the achievement of
which involve risks and uncertainties such as the closing of the Denholtz
transaction and other risks and uncertainties that are detailed from time to
time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000, filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 9, 2001. The
"Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations" section was included in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March
31, 2001, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May
15, 2001. Without limitation the foregoing, words such as "anticipates",
"expects", "intends", "plans", and similar expressions are intended to
identify forward-looking statements.
See Banyan's Website at http://www.banyanreit.com .
For further information regarding Banyan free of charge via fax, dial
1-800-PRO-INFO and enter BSRTS .
SOURCE Banyan Strategic Realty Trust
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Related links:
http://www.banyanreit.com
CONTACT:
Robert G. Higgins, Vice President, General
Counsel, 312-683-5539, or bhiggins@banyanreit.com , or Investor
Relations, L.G. Schafran, Chairman and Interim CEO-President,
312-683-5525, or ir@banyanreit.com , of Banyan Strategic Realty
Trust
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