Kimco Realty, one of the largest publicly traded owners of grocery-anchored shopping centers, wasted no time taking advantage of Kroger’s planned $24.6 billion acquisition of rival grocer Albertsons Cos.
The deal, announced Friday, immediately boosted the value of Kimco’s nearly 40 million shares of Albertsons it owned — a 7.5% stake.
Kimco said it sold 11.5 million of its 39.8 million Albertsons shares. The sale netted the Jericho, New York-based real estate investment trust proceeds of $301.1 million, much of which will be distributed to shareholders in the form of a special dividend.
“Our sale of a portion of our investment is consistent with our stated goal to monetize our stake at the right time, and also provides a meaningful source of capital at a time when capital is at a premium for the industry,” Conor Flynn, Kimco’s CEO, said in a statement.
REITs raised $6.2 billion during the third quarter, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2009 when the country was dealing with a financial crisis, according to the trade group Nareit.
Kimco’s remaining 28 million shares it holds will provide an additional capital source to fund new investments, Flynn added. Kimco has agreed not to sell that stake for a period of up to seven months, the company said.
Kimco’s remaining stake in Albertsons suggests a value of $556.3 million of cash after taxes, Morgan Stanley REIT analyst Ronald Kamden said in a note to clients Monday.
After talking with Kimco executives, Kamden said he expects Kimco to monetize $300 million to $400 million pretax next year and the remainder in 2024. Those proceeds will likely pay down debt and fund the REIT’s development pipeline, Kamden said.