NEW YORK, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- iStar Financial Inc. (NYSE: SFI), a leading publicly traded finance company focused on the commercial real estate industry, announced today the tax treatment of its 2009 preferred stock dividends. Series D Preferred Stock During 2009, taxable dividends for iStar Financial's distribution of $2.00 per share of the 8.00% Series D preferred stock CUSIP #45031U-408, listed under NYSE ticker symbol [SFI pD], will be classified as 100% return of capital. Series E Preferred Stock During 2009, taxable dividends for iStar Financial's distribution of $1.968752 per share of the 7.875% Series E preferred stock CUSIP #45031U-507, listed under NYSE ticker symbol [SFI pE], will be classified as 100% return of capital. Series F Preferred Stock During 2009, taxable dividends for iStar Financial's distribution of $1.95 per share of the 7.80% Series F preferred stock CUSIP #45031U-606, listed under NYSE ticker symbol [SFI pF], will be classified as 100% return of capital. Series G Preferred Stock During 2009, taxable dividends for iStar Financial's distribution of $1.9125 per share of the 7.65% Series G preferred stock CUSIP #45031U-705, listed under NYSE ticker symbol [SFI pG], will be classified as 100% return of capital. Series I Preferred Stock During 2009, taxable dividends for iStar Financial's distribution of $1.875 per share of the 7.50% Series I preferred stock CUSIP #45031U-804, listed under NYSE ticker symbol [SFI pI], will be classified as 100% return of capital. * * * iStar Financial Inc. is a publicly traded finance company focused on the commercial real estate industry. The Company primarily provides custom-tailored investment capital to high-end private and corporate owners of real estate, including senior and mezzanine real estate debt, senior and mezzanine corporate capital, as well as corporate net lease financing and equity. The Company, which is taxed as a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), seeks to deliver strong dividends and superior risk-adjusted returns on equity to shareholders by providing innovative and value added financing solutions to its customers. Additional information on iStar Financial is available on the Company's website at http://www.istarfinancial.com/. DATASOURCE: iStar Financial Inc. CONTACT: James D. Burns, Chief Financial Officer, or Andrew G. Backman, Senior Vice President - Investor Relations, +1-212-930-9400 Web Site: http://www.istarfinancial.com/

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