U.S. REIT company HPT plans to buy net lease portfolio for $2.4 bln

U.S. real estate investment trust (REIT) company Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT) is planning to buy a net lease portfolio from peer Spirit MTA REIT for $2.4 billion.

The portfolio, which is 98 percent occupied with a weighted average lease term of 8.6 years, consists of 774 service-oriented retail properties net leased to tenants in 22 different industries.

The move will give HPT a more diverse and resilient portfolio with a mix of net lease income increasing from 31 to 43 percent. The company’s gross assets are also expected to increase from $10.2 billion to $12.6 billion.

On the closure of the deal, HPT intends to sell about $500 million of the acquired assets and circa $300 million of hotels and other assets in order to reduce its credit.