Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
and deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-6 under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Subject Company: IRT Property Company
Commission File No. 001-07859
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 15, 2003
EQUITY ONE ANNOUNCES NO KMART CLOSINGS AND
REAFFIRMS FFO GUIDANCE FOR 2003
North Miami Beach, FL, January 15, 2003 -- Equity One, Inc. (NYSE:EQY) announced
today that neither of its two Kmart locations are included in the store closing
list released by Kmart.
Earlier today, IRT Property Company (NYSE:IRT) announced that the 86,479
square foot Kmart at Spalding Village, a 235,318-square-foot
supermarket-anchored shopping center in Griffin, Georgia, is scheduled to be
closed. The five other Kmart locations in the IRT portfolio will remain open.
Equity One and IRT are moving ahead with their respective stockholder
meetings on February 12, 2003 and subject to each securing the necessary
stockholder approvals and the satisfaction of the remaining closing conditions,
expect to close the pending merger on or about February 12, 2003. Based on the
foregoing, Equity One is reaffirming its post merger 2003 guidance for targeted
funds from operations ("FFO") per diluted share to be between $1.49 and $1.53.
About Equity One
Equity One Inc. is a North Miami Beach, Fla.-based real estate investment
trust that acquires, renovates, develops and manages neighborhood shopping
centers anchored by national and regional supermarket chains and other
necessity-oriented retailers such as drug stores or discount retail stores.
Equity One's approximately 9 million square-foot portfolio consists of 90
properties primarily located in metropolitan areas of Florida and Texas,
encompassing 57 supermarket-anchored shopping centers, eight drug store-anchored
shopping centers, 18 other retail-anchored shopping centers, three commercial
properties and four retail developments, as well as non-controlling interests in
four unconsolidated joint ventures. For additional information, please visit the
company's Web site at www.equityone.net.
Equity One has filed a registration statement on Form S-4, containing a
joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents, with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") concerning the proposed merger
between Equity One and IRT Property Company ("IRT"). You are urged to read the
registration statement containing the joint proxy statement/prospectus and any
other relevant documents filed with the SEC because they contain important
information about Equity One, IRT and the merger. You may obtain the
registration statement containing the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other
documents free of charge at the SEC's web site, http://www.sec.gov. The joint
proxy statement/prospectus and these other documents may also be obtained for
free from Equity One by directing a request to Equity One, 1696 N.E. Miami
Gardens Drive, North Miami Beach, Florida 33179, Attention: Investor Relations,
telephone: 305/947-1664 and from IRT by directing a request to IRT Property
Company, 200 Galleria Parkway, Suite 1400, Atlanta, Georgia 30339, Attention:
Investor Relations, telephone: 770/955-4406.
Equity One and IRT, and their respective directors and executive officers
and other members of their management and employees, may be deemed to be
participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Equity One
and IRT in connection with the merger. Information about the directors and
executive officers of Equity One and their ownership of Equity One shares is set
forth in the proxy statement for Equity One's 2002 annual meeting of
stockholders. Information about the directors and executive officers of IRT and
their ownership of IRT stock is set forth in the proxy statement for IRT's 2002
annual meeting of shareholders. Investors may obtain additional information
regarding the interests of such participants by reading the joint proxy
statement/prospectus when it becomes available.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain matters discussed in this press release constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although we
believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that these
expectations will be achieved. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from current expectations include changes in macro-economic
conditions and the demand for retail space in Florida and Texas; the continuing
financial success of our current and prospective tenants; continuing supply
constraints in our geographic markets; the availability of properties for
acquisition; the success of our efforts to lease up vacant properties; the
effects of natural and other disasters; and other risks, which are described in
our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.