Corporate Office Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust, has brought PBNT Bank on board for a $25 million add on to an original $125 million revolving credit line. The company approached PBNT in an effort to extend the credit to another of its relationship banks, said Roger Waesche, senior v.p. and cfo of Corporate Office Properties. "We want to make sure that we have enough capacity, so we spread [the credit] out on a number of banks," he explained. PBNT committed $15 million to the expanded credit and the remaining $10 million was raised through the original syndicate led by Deutsche Bank.
Waesche noted that in addition to the expansion, the modified arrangement also offers the company an option to extend the credit's maturity from March 2004 to March 2005. The ability to extend the maturity date offers the company consistent access to capital while it pursues strategic investments and acquisitions. "We need to have a vehicle available so we can be opportunistic with investments at all times," said Waesche.
The expanded credit has similar terms to the old line including an unchanged price of LIBOR plus 13/ 4%. FleetBoston Financial, Bank of Nova Scotia, SunTrust, Bank of Maryland, Chevy Chase Bank, KeyBank also participated in the credit facility.