Equity Residential (EQR) said Tuesday it may sell up to 17
million shares into the market in the next three years, giving the
country's largest apartment dwelling developer and manager easy
access to capital for future investments.
Friday, Moody's Investors Service cut its outlook on the
real-estate investment trust to negative because of its high debt
levels compared to profit, which has been falling on lower property
sales. Equity Residential said money from the offering, in addition
to funding the purchases and development of multifamily properties,
may be used to help pay down debt.
The REIT also trumpeted its liquidity - as Moody's had done the
previous week - by noting it has more than $800 million of cash,
$1.36 billion available under its credit facility and the ability
to sell noncore assets.
Equity Residential has about 273 million shares outstanding. Its
shares closed Monday at $31.46 and weren't active premarket. Shares
are up 6% so far this year, having doubled from a low in March.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com