Bloomberg - - Cedar Realty Trust Inc. a retail-focused real estate investment trust, is exploring strategic alternatives including a full sale, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The massapequa, New York-based company is also contemplating selling its portfolio of mixed-use shopping centers and its grocery-anchored redevelopment projects as it looks for ways to maximize shareholder value, the person said. This portfolio may be able to obtain financing at a purchase price of $965 million, according to terms reviewed by Bloomberg News.
The REIT, led by Chief Executive Officer Bruce Schanzer, is conducting an exploratory of alternatives with advisers. It owns properties in Washington, D.C. and Boston, among other cities.
The disconnect between valuations for real estate ascribed by private and public buyers is an area of focus for the REIT, Schanzer said on a recent earnings call, referencing strength in the asset market and the firm's $90 million sale of a shopping center in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He said in June that Cedar would take further appropriate measures to exploit this dislocation if it persists. Cedar s shares have more than tripled in the past 12 months, outperforming the Bloomberg U.S. Real Estate Large Mid Cap Price Return Index.