RioCan sells bonds for growth

Article Excerpt

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $13.51 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 222.1 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s largest real estate investment trust (REIT). RioCan has issued $180 million worth of new bonds. The trust will use the proceeds to retire $55 million of bonds that are due this year. That will leave it with $125 million, which it may use to buy properties or further develop its real estate holdings. For example, it recently bought six shopping centres in Montreal for $67.5 million. These malls have grocery stores as anchor tenants, which cuts their risk during a recession. In 2008, RioCan earned $146.9 million, or $0.67 a unit. As of December 31, 2008, RioCan’s long-term debt was $3.3 billion. This is equal to a high 1.1 times its market cap. However, it is not uncommon for REITs to have large amounts of debt. This is because most need to borrow heavily in order to buy land and develop…