For both Mack-Cali and the entire REIT industry, 2006 was a memorable year. Our Company accomplished much: we strengthened and extended our Northeast presence; completed our exit from non-core Western markets; and created new platforms to enhance growth opportunities.
With investor appetite for commercial real estate intensifying during the year—both as a "safe haven" and growth vehicle—our industry operated in an environment of near-constant merger and buyout activity. Several major office REITs were bought, with both public and private firms emerging with offers and completing transactions. REITs were buyers as well as sellers, as evidenced by our own acquisition of The Gale Company, a private real estate firm and one of our leading competitors in New Jersey.
Due to our acquisitions throughout the year, as well as the privatization of a few large office REITs, Mack-Cali has become the country's third largest publicly traded REIT in the office sector. Our Company continues to offer an excellent investment opportunity for those looking to own a piece of professionally managed, institutional-quality commercial real estate and to benefit from the dividends, liquidity and transparency that can only be provided by a public company.
Growing Our Core Markets
In 2006 we completed the exit from non-core Western markets with the sale of our Colorado and San Francisco portfolios. This marked the final step in our strategic plan to leave these markets in order to sharpen our focus on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Our profitable sales of these portfolios and other non-core assets—totaling $352.8 million—allow us to maintain the liquidity to reinvest in strategic opportunities in our target markets.
With the $445.3 million of acquisitions we made in 2006—through both wholly-owned and joint venture investments—our Company grew its property portfolio by 14 percent, to 34.3 million square feet, and extended its market reach northward. |
