COPT Sells $75 Million of Assets in First Quarter of 2012

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) (NYSE: OFC), an office real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses primarily on serving the specialized requirements of U.S. Government and Defense Information Technology tenants, announced that during the quarter ended March 31, 2012, it sold seven stabilized properties, two vacant properties and a land parcel for net proceeds of approximately $61 million. The stabilized buildings contained an aggregate of 219,000 square feet and were 80% occupied (63 leases) at the time of sale.

Since announcing its Strategic Reallocation Plan (SRP) in April 2011, COPT has sold a total of $139 million of properties and adjacent land containing approximately 1.2 million of operational square feet, realizing net proceeds of $130.6 million. The properties sold through March 31, 2012 represent 17.8% of COPT’s total leases in place at March 31, 2011 (the last reporting period before the SRP was announced), but only 5.4% of consolidated operating square feet at that time.

“We continue to execute on the sale of non-strategic assets with the objective of improving our overall portfolio quality and shedding assets that are more management-intensive, due to their smaller average tenant size. We are also improving our balance sheet flexibility, as we have realized significant net proceeds to date since initiating the SRP, $38 million of which was received in the first quarter from non-revenue generating properties,” stated Roger A. Waesche, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of COPT.

During the quarter ended March 31, 2012, COPT also sold its remaining shares of The KEYW Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: KEYW) for approximately $14 million, net of selling costs.

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Company Information

COPT is an office REIT that focuses primarily on strategic customer relationships and specialized tenant requirements in the U.S. Government and Defense Information Technology sectors and Data Centers serving such sectors. The Company acquires, develops, manages and leases office and data center properties that are typically concentrated in large office parks primarily located adjacent to government demand drivers and/or in strong markets that we believe possess growth opportunities. As of December 31, 2011, the Company’s consolidated portfolio consisted of 238 office properties totaling 20.5 million rentable square feet. The Company’s portfolio primarily consists of technically sophisticated buildings in visually appealing settings that are environmentally sensitive, sustainable and meet unique customer requirements. COPT is an S&P MidCap 400 company and more information can be found at www.copt.com.

Forward-Looking Information:

This press release may contain “forward-looking” statements, as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that are based on the Company’s current expectations, estimates and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the Company. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan” or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate. Accordingly, the Company can give no assurance that these expectations, estimates and projections will be achieved. Future events and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements.

Important factors that may affect these expectations, estimates, and projections include, but are not limited to:

• general economic and business conditions, which will, among other things, affect office property and data center demand and rents, tenant creditworthiness, interest rates and financing availability;
• adverse changes in the real estate markets including, among other things, increased competition with other companies;
• governmental actions and initiatives, including risks associated with the impact of a government shutdown, budgetary reductions or impasses, such as a reduction in rental revenues, non-renewal of leases, and/or a curtailment of demand for additional space by strategic tenants;
• the Company’s ability to sell properties included in its Strategic Reallocation Plan;
• the Company’s ability to borrow on favorable terms;
• risks of real estate acquisition and development activities, including, among other things, risks that development projects may not be completed on schedule, that tenants may not take occupancy or pay rent or that development or operating costs may be greater than anticipated;
• risks of investing through joint venture structures, including risks that the Company’s joint venture partners may not fulfill their financial obligations as investors or may take actions that are inconsistent with the Company’s objectives;
• changes in the Company’s plans or views of market economic conditions or failure to obtain development rights, either of which could result in recognition of impairment losses;
• the Company’s ability to satisfy and operate effectively under Federal income tax rules relating to real estate investment trusts and partnerships;
• the dilutive effect of issuing additional common shares; and
• environmental requirements.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements. For further information, please refer to the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Corporate Office Properties Trust
IR Contacts:
Stephanie Krewson
VP, Investor Relations
443-285-5453
stephanie.krewson@copt.com
or
Michelle Layne
Investor Relations Specialist
443-285-5452
michelle.layne@copt.com

Source: Corporate Office Properties Trust

Released April 3, 2012