Liquidating Elme Communities Sells 3 Properties, Cuts Expected Return
Elme Communities found a buyer for three properties as the REIT executes its liquidation plan, but it is also tempering shareholders’ expectations about how much cash they should expect back.
Bethesda, Maryland-based Elme has entered two agreements worth a combined $155M to sell two apartment developments in Georgia and a third in Maryland. The defunct REIT has 10 properties left to sell, and it cut its expected total proceeds from the liquidation in an update on Friday.
After selling the remaining assets, Elme management now expects shareholders will receive a combined liquidation contribution between $17.02 and $17.47 per share. That is down from the $17.40 to $18.32 that the company estimated when it announced on Aug. 4 that it was closing shop.
The total value includes a $14.67-per-share distribution Elme paid on Jan. 7.
Buyers weren’t named for the three properties, which are Elme Sandy Spring and Elme Marietta in Georgia and Elme Watkins Mill in Maryland. The sales are expected to close later this quarter.
CEO Paul McDermott said in a statement that management was pleased with the pace of liquidation and “laser-focused on expediently monetizing the Company’s remaining assets.”
Elme’s 10 remaining assets are all multifamily except the Watergate 600 office in Washington, D.C., which it bought for $135M in 2017.
Seven properties are being marketed, and campaigns are set to launch for the remaining three, with Elme management looking to have all of them sold by the middle of the year.
The company's leaders said they cut the estimated total liquidation disbursement in part to reflect weakness in Washington, D.C.’s investment market.
The Elme statement says “reductions are largely a function of information obtained during the marketing and sale process, including with respect to interest and valuation levels received to date, as well as current market conditions in the D.C. area, which have continued to soften throughout our marketing and sale process generally.”
The change in payout range also includes minor adjustments for expenses and debt service costs.
Several board members and a senior staffer also plan to depart as Elme winds down operations, with their exits set to be official after the company posts its upcoming annual report.
Ellen Goitia and Ron Sturzenegger are leaving the board of directors, and Chief Financial Officer Steven Freishtat will be replaced by Chief Administrative Officer W. Drew Hammond.
Elme, formerly known as WashREIT, began exploring a potential sale in February and reached a deal to kick off the process in August, when Atlanta-based Cortland agreed to acquire 19 Elme assets, mostly in Washington, for $1.6B.
The REIT secured $520M in financing from Goldman Sachs after the deal closed in November to pay down debt and fund its liquidation.
