PASADENA, Calif., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE) announced today that the Company successfully amended and extended its existing revolving credit agreement (the "Amended Credit Agreement"), with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as joint lead arrangers; Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent; and certain lenders, in connection with the Amended Credit Agreement. With approximately $2.5 billion of total commitments from 34 financial institutions, the Company closed $1.5 billion in commitments under the Amended Credit Agreement. The Amended Credit Agreement lowers applicable interest rate margins and provides for a $500 million accordion option. The Company's operating partnership, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P. (the "Operating Partnership"), guarantees the obligations of the Company under the Amended Credit Agreement and is no longer a borrower thereunder. The maturity date for the Amended Credit Agreement has been extended to April 2017, provided that the Company exercises its right to extend the maturity date twice by an additional six months for each exercise. Certain financial covenants were modified to provide the Company with greater flexibility, including in connection with material acquisitions.
"We express our appreciation to our important lending relationships for their very strong support and confidence in the Company, with 34 financial institutions providing an aggregate of approximately $2.5 billion of commitments for our $1.5 billion unsecured senior line of credit," said Dean A. Shigenaga, Chief Financial Officer for Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. "Our unsecured senior line of credit provides the Company with significant liquidity and availability. Our liquidity was approximately $1.4 billion as of March 31, 2012, including the availability from our unsecured senior line of credit and cash and cash equivalents.