ELS to Acquire $1.43 Billion Portfolio of Home Communities and Loans

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) entered into purchase and other agreements with certain affiliates of Hometown America, LLC, to acquire a $1.43 billion portfolio of 76 manufactured home communities and certain manufactured homes and loans secured by manufactured homes located at the Hometown Properties.

These communities contain 31,167 sites on approximately 6,500 acres of land located primarily in Florida and the northeast region of the U.S.; closing costs for these acquisitions are approximately $21 million.

At the end of May, ELS closed acquisition on 35 of those properties for $451 million, funded through the issuance of some of ELS’ stock and shares to Hometown for a combined value of $33 million, with the remainder being made up of approximately $418 million in cash.

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ELS says it expects to close on the remaining properties by December 31, 2011; funding will come from a variety of sources, including net proceeds from ELS’ public offering of 6,037,500 shares of common stock in June 2011, a fixed-rate mortgage, debt capital, issuing ELS stocks and shares to Hometown, and a $200 million term loan. ELS says the term loan will mature on July 1, 2017, and provides for an interest rate of LIBOR plus 1.85% to 2.80% per annum.

Headquartered in Chicago, ELS owns or has interest in 342 properties in 30 states and British Columbia; these properties consist of 123,065 sites.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

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