Vornado Reaps $124M Proceeds From TheMART Refinancing

Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) realized $124 million of net proceeds from the completion of $675 million refinancing of theMART (Merchandise Mart) in Chicago. This move is aimed at enhancing the financial capacity on favorable terms.

Notably, theMART in Chicago is one among the world’s largest commercial buildings and it comprises 3.6 million rentable square feet. Its refinancing included a five-year interest-only loan slated to mature in Sep 2021 with a fixed rate of 2.70%. The company repaid the existing 5.57% $550 million loan.

Vornado is the owner and manager of commercial real estate in the United States, focusing mainly on New York City and Washington D.C. areas. The company boasts a strong liquidity position which keeps its growth momentum going.

Vornado – with high-quality office assets located in high-rent, high barrier-to-entry markets, a diverse tenant base and decent balance sheet – is poised for long-term growth. The company, which has been subject to criticism for venturing into too many sectors, has made consistent efforts in recent times to streamline its business. It has opted for divestitures, including spin-offs like that of Urban Edge Properties (UE), and resorted to opportunistic investments to improve its long-term growth scope.

However, the company’s portfolio-repositioning efforts through property dispositions have an earnings dilutive effect. Further, stiff competition and any hike in interest rates remain concerns before the company.

Vornado currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in this industry is InfraREIT, Inc. (NYSE:HIFR) , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Also, investors can consider better-ranked stocks like DuPont (NYSE:DD) Fabros Technology, Inc. (NYSE:DFT) and HCP Inc. (NYSE:HCP) that carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).


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