NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 1, 2006--The first "no front-end load" real estate investment trust, The Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust (the REIT), announced it has surpassed $3 million in subscriptions to date. Sponsored by one of the premiere real estate investors in the country, David Lichtenstein, chairman and CEO of The Lightstone Group, the REIT has also identified its first potential acquisition and declared its first dividend to shareholders.
The REIT began its $300 million publicly registered, non-listed offering of up to 30 million shares of common stock in May 2005. Proceeds from subscriptions to the fund were initially placed in escrow pending the sale of at least 200,000 shares at $10 per share. All such subscriptions have since been applied to the purchase of shares on behalf of the REIT's first investors.
The REIT has also identified a potential first property acquisition. The retail property would be operated by The Lightstone Group's retail arm, Prime Retail. The REIT is expected to close on the $28 million acquisition of the Belz Factory Outlet World in St. Augustine, Florida by April 2006. Although the REIT believes that the acquisition of this property is probable, there can be no assurance that this acquisition will be consummated.
Finally, the REIT's board of directors declared a dividend for the two-month period ending March 31, 2006. The dividend will be calculated based on shareholders of record each day during this two-month period at a rate of $0.0019178 per day, and will equal a daily amount that, if paid each day for a 365-day period, would equal a 7.0 percent annualized rate based on a share price of $10.00. The dividend will be paid in cash in April 2006.
The amount of dividends to be distributed to the REIT's shareholders in the future will be determined by the REIT's board of directors and will be dependent on a number of factors, including funds available for payment of dividends, the REIT's financial condition, capital expenditure requirements and annual distribution requirements needed to qualify and maintain its status as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code.
