RioCan Earns Fee on Home Depot Pullout

Article Excerpt

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $14 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 221 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.4; SI Rating: Average) is building a new, mixed-use residential/commercial complex in downtown Toronto. Home Depot had agreed to be the anchor tenant, but has decided to break its lease. This could force RioCan to slow work on this property, but the trust should have little trouble finding a replacement tenant. Home Deport also probably paid a termination fee of $11.5 million, which is equal to 28% of the $41.6 million, or $0.19 a unit, that RioCan earned in the three months ended September 30, 2008. RioCan is a buy. buy…