DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Duke Realty Corp. (DRE) said it plans to sell 64 million common
shares to repay borrowings under its unsecured line of credit and
for general corporate purposes.
The offering would increase outstanding shares by 43%. The
planned dilution prompted investors to sell, sending shares down
4.6% to $8.05 in recent after-hours trading.
The Indianapolis-based real estate investment trust has laid off
workers, cut its dividend, frozen managers' salaries and closed
some operations to preserve liquidity amid the recession.
The underwriters will have a 30-day option to purchase up to an
additional 9.6 million shares. Merrill Lynch & Co., J.P. Morgan
Securities Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. (MS) are acting as
joint book-running managers for the offering.
In January, Duke said its fourth-quarter net income fell 63%
while funds from operations, a key measure of REIT profitability,
declined 8.4%.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5975;
Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com