Investors Real Estate Trust Announces Dispositions of Senior Housing Communities for $236 Million

MINOT, ND - Investors Real Estate Trust, a real estate investment trust focusing on the acquisition, development, redevelopment and management of multifamily communities located primarily in select growth markets throughout the Midwest, announced that it has entered into six separate sales agreements with several affiliates of Edgewood Senior Living for the planned disposition of 26 of the Company's senior housing properties, and one multifamily property, for a total of approximately $236.0 million. 

Affiliates of the buyers currently lease 25 of the 26 senior housing properties from the Company.  The Company expects these sales to close in calendar 2017.  These sales are in addition to the previously-announced exercise of purchase options by affiliates of the buyers, who are current tenants, to purchase 8 senior housing properties the Company owns in Idaho for a total of approximately $43.5 million.  If all of these transactions close, the Company will have completely disposed of its senior housing portfolio for a total of approximately $279.5 million.

"The sale of our senior housing properties is a significant step in our efforts to transform IRET into a pure play multifamily company," stated Chief Executive Officer Tim Mihalick.  "As we move forward, these transactions unlock significant value within our portfolio and provide capital for new investments, while we enhance our operating platform, strengthen our balance sheet and drive cash flow.  We remain excited about our pipeline of opportunities, focusing on our long term strategic growth objective to drive long term value for our shareholders."

Investors Real Estate Trust (IRET) focuses on the acquisition, development, redevelopment and management of multifamily communities located primarily in select growth markets throughout the Midwest.  As of April 30, 2016, the Company owned interests in 146 properties, consisting of: (1) 99 multifamily properties consisting of 12,950 units, and (2) 47 commercial properties, including 31 healthcare properties, containing a total of approximately 2.9 million square feet of leasable space.