Digital Realty Trust Inc. (DLR), a niche real estate investment trust (REIT), has recently obtained a new multicurrency unsecured term loan worth $750 million to increase its liquidity. The loan is scheduled to mature in April 2017, and includes an accordion feature by virtue of which the company can increase the borrowing capacity to $850 million at its own discretion.
In tune with its international presence, the term loan would enable Digital Realty to withdraw funds in U.S, Singapore and Australian dollars, along with the Euro and Pound Sterling denominations. The term loan also provides the company with the option to add Hong Kong dollars and Yen currency denominations to it.
The term loan bears an annualized interest rate at 145 basis points over the applicable index for floating rate advances. The company expects to utilize the proceeds from the loan to fund both domestic and international acquisitions that are in sync with its long-term investment objectives.
Digital Realty operates data centers and digital storage facilities, which are primarily used by telecommunication companies to maintain their Internet presence or augment their data networks. Data centers usually incur high costs for building and maintenance, and as such supply is relatively inelastic.
Digital Realty primarily focuses on investing in institutional quality data center facilities in high barriers-to-entry markets with significant potential to generate attractive risk-adjusted return on investments (ROI).
The company provides flexible and cost effective data center facilities to a wide range of customers, including domestic and international companies across multiple industry verticals. Its portfolio includes 102 properties throughout Europe, North America, Singapore and Australia spanning approximately 19.1 million square feet of space (including 2.4 million square feet of redevelopment space).
With demand for digital storage facilities increasing in recent years, Digital Realty has benefited greatly by negotiating favorable lease terms and maintaining strong occupancy rates. The long-term lease agreements have also insulated the company from short-term volatility and unfavorable market swings experienced during the recession. This has enabled Digital Realty to continue paying out solid dividends to its shareholders.
We presently have a Neutral recommendation for Digital Realty, which currently has a Zacks #3 Rank, translating into a short-term Hold rating. We also have a Neutral recommendation and a Zacks #3 Rank for Brandywine Realty Trust (BDN), one of the competitors of Digital Realty.
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