[Guelph, ON – November 20, 2008]
Guelph-based Skyline is pleased to announce that it has completed its acquisition of 18 multi-residential properties from Conundrum Residential Property Income Fund on behalf of Skyline Apartment REIT at a purchase price of $108 million. The deal features 1,519 rental suites in 9 different Ontario communities.
Skyline continues to execute on its successful strategy of focusing on and finding value in Ontario’s secondary markets. The company has acquired $244 million in assets this year alone bringing Skyline Apartment REIT’s current market value to $450 million.
At $108 million, the Conundrum acquisition is the largest deal in Skyline’s history. It also comes on the heels of Skyline’s $9 million acquisition of a 213 unit property in Thunder Bay on November 14th and a $81.4 million acquisition of The Cooperators office portfolio in September of this year. “The Conundrum deal gives us a foothold in six new cities including Hamilton and Brantford and expands our presence in strong rental markets such as St. Catharines and Peterborough, says Jason Castellan, CEO of Skyline. Add in our Thunder Bay acquisition and you can say we’re certainly excited to be ending 2008 on a high note.” Castellan adds, “We look forward to serving the residents of these new communities.”
The company now has real estate holdings in 33 communities across four Canadian provinces. The acquisition significantly expands Skyline Apartment REIT’s southwestern portfolio, which immediately provides the management with opportunities to leverage upon existing properties and create significant economies of scale. Since amalgamating its holdings into a private REIT on June 1, 2006, Skyline Apartment REIT has grown to 85 properties.
About Skyline
Based in Guelph, Ontario, Skyline is the asset manager for Skyline Apartment REIT, a private real estate investment trust focused on acquiring and managing apartment buildings and commercial space in diverse communities across Canada. Driven by a desire to be the very best at pursuing steady, calculated, Real Estate growth grounded in fundamentally sound properties, Skyline takes pride in its ability to continually identify accretive real estate investment opportunities to complement its growing REIT portfolio. Skyline currently holds 5,498 residential suites across Ontario and 747,391 square feet of commercial space.