Tricon Residential Inc., a rental housing company focused on serving the middle-market demographic in North America, announced that a syndicate of investors led by Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc., a non-listed, perpetual-life real estate investment trust advised by an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate, has agreed to make a $300 million preferred equity investment in Tricon through the purchase of newly-created units which are issued by a Tricon subsidiary on a private placement basis and are exchangeable into a minority investment of Tricon. BREIT will acquire $240 million of the Preferred Equity. The Investment provides several immediate benefits to Tricon:
Validation of Tricon’s Business – The Investment demonstrates the financial strength of Tricon and that Blackstone Real Estate, a global leader in real estate investing, believes in the value and stability of Tricon’s rental housing portfolio.
Exchangeable Preferred Issuance at Attractive Pricing – The exchange price of US$8.50 per share represents a 16% premium to Tricon’s 30-day volume weighted average trading price as of August 26, 2020 and is in line with the Company’s reported IFRS book value per share as at Q2 2020.
Strengthens Tricon’s Balance Sheet – Tricon expects to use the full net proceeds of the Investment to repay its corporate credit facility, reducing its proportionate leverage by approximately 500 basis points to approximately 56% net debt/assets (excluding convertible debentures) and enhancing its balance sheet flexibility. Tricon remains committed to reducing its leverage to a near-term target of 50-55% net debt/assets and expects the planned syndication of an equity interest in its U.S. multi-family portfolio to contribute further to this goal.
“This investment in Tricon illustrates Blackstone Real Estate’s confidence in our business fundamentals and the value in our stock,” said Gary Berman, CEO of Tricon Residential. “Blackstone inherently understands our business and is exceptionally well-positioned to help us bring our tech-enabled operating platform to its full potential. We are excited to have the support of one of the world’s largest real estate investors, and we are confident that this investment will create significant value for both Tricon’s and BREIT’s shareholders.”
Frank Cohen, Chairman and CEO of BREIT, said, “We are pleased to make this preferred equity investment in Tricon. We continue to see strong underlying fundamentals in the rental housing sector and believe the company’s high quality, income-generating assets are poised to generate stable performance under the leadership of its best-in-class management team.”
Key terms of the Investment and Preferred Equity include:
- Quarterly cash dividend of 5.75% per annum through to the seventh anniversary of the Investment closing, subject to increases thereafter.
- Exchangeable for common shares of Tricon (“Common Shares”) at any time at the option of the holder at an initial exchange price of US$8.50 per share (approximately C$11.18), representing a 16% premium to the 30-day VWAP of the Common Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) as of August 26. On an as-exchanged basis, the Preferred Equity will represent approximately 14% of the pro forma fully diluted outstanding Common Shares at closing. The exchange price will be subject to adjustment from time to time in accordance with the terms of the Preferred Equity.
- The Preferred Equity will not entitle the holders to vote as common shareholders of Tricon.
In connection with the Investment, Tricon and its subsidiary will enter into an investor rights agreement with BREIT providing for, among other things, customary registration rights, participation rights, consent rights, certain standstill and transfer restrictions and the right to nominate one director to Tricon’s board.
Tricon is pleased to welcome Frank Cohen, who will join Tricon’s board of directors (the “Board”) on the closing date of the Investment. Mr. Cohen, a Blackstone Senior Managing Director and Chairman and CEO of BREIT, will be appointed to the Board as BREIT’s initial nominee in connection with its investment.
Additional information regarding the Investment and the terms of the Preferred Equity will be included in a material change report to be filed by Tricon here. This press release is only a summary of certain principal terms of the Investment and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the more detailed information contained in the material change report.
The closing date is expected to occur in late August or early September, subject to receipt of TSX approval.
