Regency Centers & Macquarie CountryWide to Acquire CalPERS/First Washington Portfolio

Business Wire, Feb 14, 2005

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE:REG) announced today that it and its joint venture partner, Macquarie CountryWide Trust of Australia, have entered into a definitive agreement to purchase 101 retail centers totaling approximately 13 million square feet from CalPERS/First Washington ("First Washington"). The transaction, valued at approximately $2.74 billion, has been approved by each partners' board of directors and is expected to close in the second quarter.

The Macquarie CountryWide-Regency venture ("Venture") for this investment will be owned 65% by Macquarie CountryWide and 35% by Regency. The Venture intends to fund the acquisition through a combination of assumed debt, new debt financing and equity. The Venture's target leverage will be 60%, and the debt will initially be comprised of the assumption of approximately $900 million of secured property debt and approximately $800 million of bridge financing provided by affiliates of Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC and JPMorgan Chase Bank. The majority of the existing mortgages are expected to be refinanced within the first six months, which will generate enough proceeds to fully repay the bridge.

Regency plans to fund its 35% equity, which is approximately $400 million, by drawing on its line of credit and with approximately $275 million of bridge financing provided by Wells Fargo Bank. On a leverage-neutral basis, Regency expects accretion to earnings of 4%-6% in 2005 and long-term accretion of 2%-3%.

The First Washington portfolio is 96% leased, and located throughout 17 states and the District of Columbia. 48% of the centers are located in the metropolitan Washington D.C./Baltimore area, and Northern and Southern California. 83% of the portfolio is grocery anchored, with nearly 80% of those tenants ranked in the top three in terms of market share in their respective markets. Average household income in the portfolio is approximately $82,000 and population density within three miles of the centers averages greater than 110,000 people.

Subsequent to the purchase, Regency will own or manage 392 retail centers totaling over 49 million square feet of gross leasable area (GLA) located in 26 states.

"Regency and CountryWide are excited about this unique and terrific opportunity to acquire an outstanding portfolio of infill centers with excellent prospects for growth. The quality of the portfolio in terms of top markets, grocer strength and especially demographics, augments Regency's already exceptional portfolio. The combination of population density and household income makes the First Washington/CalPERS portfolio one of the highest ranking in terms of buying power. The acquisition also allows us to profitably expand into new markets such as suburbs of New York City and Minneapolis and enhance our presence in the key target markets of Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., while substantially growing our joint venture program," said Martin E. Stein, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Regency Centers.

Wachovia Capital Markets, J.P. Morgan Securities and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. acted as financial advisors to the Macquarie CountryWide/Regency joint venture for this transaction.

Conference Call

In conjunction with this announcement, Regency will be hosting a conference call on Tuesday, February 15, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. EST. The dial in number is 800-967-7185. International callers may dial 719-457-2634. The call will also be broadcast live over the internet on the Company's web site http://www.RegencyCenters.com. If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the call will also be archived on the web site. The replay will be available for two weeks by dialing 888-203-1112 pass code 4248776. International callers may hear the replay by dialing 719-457-0820 and using pass code 4248776.

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