Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) continued its acquisition conquest by recently closing on another seven properties, for a stated purchase price of $160 million. The properties are part of a $1.43 billion portfolio for which ELS entered a purchase agreement in May of this year, and include 31,167 sites and 75 manufactured home communities.
The seven-property transaction also included closing on certain manufactured homes and loans secured by manufactured homes located at those properties.
Funding for the transaction came through the issuance of approximately $3 million’s worth of ELS’s common stock to the seller along with $55 million worth of Series B Preferred stock, and the assumption of approximately $102 million worth of mortgage debt secured by the seven recently closed-on properties.
ELS closed on 58 of the portfolio’s properties in the third quarter of 2011, and says the timing of the closings has been generally consistent with the estimated closing schedule provided on its website in July. There are 18 properties still left in the portfolio that ELS expects to close on by Oct. 3, 2011.
The portfolio is primarily located in Florida and the northeastern region of the United States, and the company reported its preliminary assessment of Hurricane Irene’s impact on the properties. Several of the properties closed due to power outages and weather-related issues, and some remained closed through Labor Day weekend. ELS expects the primary impact to its properties’ operators to come from cleaning up after the hurricane, and estimates the impact on income to be less than $1.5 million.
As of Sept. 1, ELS owns or has interest in 365 properties, consisting of 134,005 sites.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
