CLEVELAND, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Forest City
Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today announced voting
results from the Company's 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders,
which was held today in Cleveland.
Stockholders approved all matters before them at the meeting,
including a proposal to reclassify the Company's dual-class share
structure and create a single class of stock with "one share, one
vote" rights.
In addition, all board members were elected to new, one-year
terms, including two new independent directors, Z. Jamie Behar and Craig
Macnab, both of whom were standing for election for the
first time. With their election, Forest City's 13-member
board includes eight independent directors.
"We are gratified to receive the support of our stockholders as
we take this important next step in our transformation into a
high-performing REIT focused on residential, office and mixed-use
assets in some of America's strongest markets," said President and
CEO David J. LaRue. "The elimination
of the dual-class share structure, together with the Company's
ongoing initiatives to drive improved performance, reduce leverage
and enhance disclosure, reflects the Board's and management team's
continued commitment to driving growth and unlocking value for all
Forest City stakeholders."
The Company currently anticipates that the reclassification
process will be completed following the close of the New York Stock
Exchange on Monday, June 12, 2017.
Following the reclassification, the Company's shares will continue
to trade under the symbol FCE.A.
About Forest City
Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. is a
NYSE-listed national real estate company with $8.2 billion in consolidated assets. The Company
is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management
and acquisition of commercial, residential and mixed-use real
estate in key urban markets in the United States. For more
information, visit www.forestcity.net.
Safe Harbor Language
Statements made in this news
release that state the company's or management's intentions, hopes,
beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are
forward-looking statements. The company's actual results could
differ materially from those expressed or implied in such
forward-looking statements due to various risks, uncertainties and
other factors. Risks and factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, any delays with respect to, or the
failure to complete, the reclassification, the company's ability to
carry out future transactions and strategic investments, as well as
the acquisition related costs, unanticipated difficulties realizing
expected benefits expected when entering into a transaction, the
company's ability to qualify or to remain qualified as a REIT, its
ability to satisfy REIT distribution requirements, the impact of
issuing equity, debt or both, and selling assets to satisfy its
future distributions required as a REIT or to fund capital
expenditures, future growth and expansion initiatives, the impact
of the amount and timing of any future distributions, the impact
from complying with REIT qualification requirements limiting its
flexibility or causing it to forego otherwise attractive
opportunities beyond rental real estate operations, the impact of
complying with the REIT requirements related to hedging, its lack
of experience operating as a REIT, legislative, administrative,
regulatory or other actions affecting REITs, including positions
taken by the Internal Revenue Service, the possibility that the
company's Board of Directors will unilaterally revoke its REIT
election, the possibility that the anticipated benefits of
qualifying as a REIT will not be realized, or will not be realized
within the expected time period, the impact of current lending and
capital market conditions on its liquidity, its ability to finance
or refinance projects or repay its debt, the impact of the slow
economic recovery on the ownership, development and management of
its commercial real estate portfolio, general real estate
investment and development risks, litigation risks, including risks
with respect to the outcome of any legal proceedings that have or
may be instituted against the Company or others relating to the
reclassification, vacancies in its properties, risks associated
with developing and managing properties in partnership with others,
competition, its ability to renew leases or re-lease spaces as
leases expire, illiquidity of real estate investments, its ability
to identify and transact on chosen strategic alternatives for a
portion of its retail portfolio, bankruptcy or defaults of tenants,
anchor store consolidations or closings, the impact of terrorist
acts and other armed conflicts, its substantial debt leverage and
the ability to obtain and service debt, the impact of restrictions
imposed by the company's revolving credit facility, term loan and
senior debt, exposure to hedging agreements, the level and
volatility of interest rates, the continued availability of
tax-exempt government financing, its ability to receive payment on
the notes receivable issued by Onexim in connection with their
purchase of our interests in the Barclays Center and the Nets, the
impact of credit rating downgrades, effects of uninsured or
underinsured losses, effects of a downgrade or failure of its
insurance carriers, environmental liabilities, competing interests
of its directors and executive officers, the ability to recruit and
retain key personnel, risks associated with the sale of tax
credits, downturns in the housing market, the ability to maintain
effective internal controls, compliance with governmental
regulations, increased legislative and regulatory scrutiny of the
financial services industry, changes in federal, state or local tax
laws and international trade agreements, volatility in the market
price of its publicly traded securities, inflation risks,
cybersecurity risks, cyber incidents, shareholder activism efforts,
conflicts of interest, risks related to its organizational
structure including operating through its Operating Partnership and
its UPREIT structure, as well as other risks listed from time to
time in the company's SEC filings, including but not limited to,
the company's annual and quarterly reports.
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SOURCE Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.