First Washington/CalPERS to Acquire Majority Interest in a Nationwide Portfolio of Shopping Centers

Portfolio Valued at $1.73 Billion


BETHESDA, Md., July 21   /PRNewswire/ -- First Washington Realty, Inc., of Bethesda, Maryland, announced today that its joint venture with the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), called Global Retail Investors, LLC, has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase a majority interest in a nationwide portfolio of neighborhood and community shopping centers from Macquarie CountryWide Trust of Australia with a valuation of $1.73 billion.

The portfolio is comprised of 86 shopping centers located in 17 states and the District of Columbia, totaling approximately 11.5 million square feet.  Twenty-six of the shopping centers are located in the Washington/Baltimore area, and sixteen of the shopping centers are located in the San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego areas.  The transaction includes largely the same nationwide portfolio of shopping centers that First Washington/CalPERS originally owned and sold to Macquarie CountryWide Trust in 2005.

Under the terms of the agreement, First Washington/CalPERS will acquire from Macquarie CountryWide Trust a 60% interest in the portfolio, and Regency Centers Corporation of Jacksonville, Florida (NYSE:REG) has an option to increase its current interest in the portfolio from 25% to 40%.  The transaction is expected to close by the end of July.

William J. Wolfe, President of First Washington, said:  "We are pleased with the opportunity to once again own this pre-eminent national portfolio of neighborhood and community shopping centers.  It is a portfolio we know well and one which we believe offers the opportunity for highly attractive growth and returns over time."

CalPERS is the largest public pension fund in the United States with assets totaling approximately $180 billion.  It provides retirement and health benefits to more than 1.6 million State and local public employees and their families.  The pension fund is headquartered in Sacramento, California.  First Washington Realty, Inc. is a privately owned real estate investment company which has a long term joint venture agreement with CalPERS under which it invests alongside CalPERS in connection with an ongoing program to acquire and operate neighborhood and community shopping centers throughout the United States and abroad. 

DATASOURCE: First Washington Realty, Inc.



CONTACT:  CONTACT: First Washington Realty, Inc., [phone]



Web Site:  http://www.firstwash.com/ 

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