WPT Industrial REIT Announces Closing of Combined US$271 Million Public and Private Offering of Subscription Receipts

OVER-ALLOTMENT OPTION ALSO EXERCISED

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR OVER UNITED STATES WIRE SERVICES

TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (the “REIT”) (TSX:WIR.U; WIR.UN – OTCQX: WPTIF) announced today that it has completed its previously announced public offering (the “Public Offering”) of 16,272,500 subscription receipts (the “Subscription Receipts”), inclusive of 2,122,500 Subscription Receipts issued pursuant to the exercise in full of the over-allotment option, on a bought deal basis at a price of US$14.35 per Subscription Receipt (the “Offering Price”) for total gross proceeds to the REIT of US$233,510,375. The Public Offering was completed through a syndicate of underwriters co-led and joint bookrun by Desjardins Capital Markets, BMO Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets, which also included CIBC Capital Markets, National Bank Financial, Scotiabank, TD Securities, Canaccord Genuity, Industrial Alliance Securities and Morgan Stanley Canada. The Subscription Receipts issued pursuant to the Public Offering will commence trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange today under the ticker symbol WIR.R.

Concurrently with the closing of the Public Offering, the REIT also closed its previously announced private placement (the “Private Placement”, and together with the Public Offering, the “Financing”) of 2,578,400 Subscription Receipts issued at the Offering Price to Alberta Investment Management Corporation as nominee and bare trustee (“AIMCo”), the REIT’s largest unitholder, for total gross proceeds of US$37,000,040. Following the issuance of trust units of the REIT (the “Units”) upon exchange of Subscription Receipts (as described below), AIMCo’s ownership in the REIT will be approximately 16.6%.

The REIT intends to use the net proceeds from the Financing to fund, in part, the purchase price for the REIT’s previously announced acquisition of a portfolio (the “Acquisition Portfolio”) of 26 U.S. distribution and logistics properties and one 85-acre land parcel for a purchase price of approximately US$730 million (exclusive of closing and transaction adjustments) (collectively, the “Acquisition”).

The Acquisition is expected to close on or about March 31, 2020. On closing of the Acquisition: (i) one Unit will be automatically issued in exchange for each Subscription Receipt (subject to customary anti-dilution protection), without payment of additional consideration or further action by the holder thereof; (ii) an amount per Subscription Receipt equal to the amount per Unit of any cash distributions made by the REIT for which record dates have occurred during the period from and including February 27, 2020 to and including the date immediately preceding the date Units are issued to holders of Subscription Receipts, net of any applicable withholding taxes, will become payable in respect of each Subscription Receipt, and (iii) the net proceeds from the sale of the Subscription Receipts will be released from escrow to the REIT.