In a February 14 press release, Bluerock Residential Growth REIT, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BRG) (the “Company”), an owner of highly amenitized multi-family communities, announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $25 million of its outstanding shares of Class A common stock over a period of one year.
“We are pleased to announce this share repurchase plan, which demonstrates our strong belief in the quality of our assets and the growth embedded in our portfolio, which we believe is significantly undervalued by the market,” said Ramin Kamfar, the Company’s Chairman and CEO. “With this new plan we have an additional option to consider in our deployment of capital. It is our intention to take a measured approach to executing these repurchases as we prudently use our capital and manage our leverage in a careful manner to maximize shareholder value.”
Purchases made pursuant to the plan will be made in either the open market, including through block purchases or in privately negotiated transactions from time to time as permitted by federal securities laws and other legal requirements. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases will be determined by the Company in its discretion. The stock repurchase plan does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of Class A common stock and will be subject to economic and market conditions, stock price, applicable legal requirements and other factors. All open market repurchases will be made in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which sets certain restrictions on the method, timing, price and volume of open market repurchases. The plan may be extended, modified, suspended or discontinued at any time at the Company’s discretion.
Bluerock Residential Growth REIT, Inc. was incorporated in 2008. As of September 30, 2017, it reported a portfolio consisting of interests in 35 properties with an aggregate of 10,761 units, comprised of 8,166 operating units and 2,595 units under development. The Company raised capital in a continuous registered offering as a nontraded REIT from its inception until September 9, 2013, when it terminated the continuous registered offering. Through September 9, 2013, the Company had raised an aggregate of $22.6 million in gross proceeds through its continuous registered offering, including its distribution reinvestment plan. The Company listed its shares on the NYSE MKT on March 28, 2014. On March 28, 2014, the Company commenced an IPO of Class A common stock which closed on April 2, 2014, after raising approximately $44.0 million after discounts, commissions and offering costs.
In connection with the IPO, the Company’s stockholders on January 23, 2014, approved a designation of then-existing Class A common stock into three equal tranches of Class B common stock. From March 23, 2015 through March 17, 2016, the three tranches converted into Class A common stock. The last tranche of Class B common stock converted into Class A common stock on March 17, 2016, which gave shareholders the ability to liquidate their holdings via trades on the NYSE.
