H&R makes another sale

Article Excerpt

H&R REIT $22.46 (Toronto symbol HR.UN; Units outstanding: 283.4 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 6.0%; www.hr-reit.com) has agreed to sell a 50% stake in its TransCanada Tower in Calgary to the realty unit of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP). HOOPP will pay $257.4 million. H&R will use the proceeds to pay down debt. The TransCanada Tower has more than doubled in value since its construction by H&R REIT in 2001. The 38-storey commercial building hosts the headquarters of TransCanada Corp. This is H&R’s second sale in the past few months. In mid-June, it sold its entire one-third stake in Toronto’s Scotia Plaza for $438.3 million. The buyers were private equity firm KingSett Capital and its partner, Alberta Investment Management Corp. H&R REIT is a buy. buy…