Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Would you please offer your assessment of Slate REIT? I am interested to know more. Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Slate Office REIT, $7.23, symbol SOT.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 30.5 million; Market cap: $220.5 million; www.slateam.com), owns 48 office and industrial properties in Atlantic Canada (46% of square footage), Ontario (33%) and Western Canada (21%). Slate changed its name from FAM REIT in March 2015. In June, the trust completed its $430-million purchase of Fortis Properties Corp., Fortis Inc.’s commercial real estate portfolio. These properties, located in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, include 10 office buildings, one mixed-use office complex and three shopping malls. In all, they comprise 2.8 million square feet of space. Some notable Newfoundland properties included in the sale are Cabot Place, the Fortis Building and TD Place in St. John’s; the Fortis Tower and the Millbrook Mall in Corner Brook; the Fraser Mall in Gander; and the Marystown Mall. As part of the acquisition, Slate entered into a partnership with a Canadian institutional real estate fund. The deal saw Slate retain a 10% interest in…