Forest City completes conversion to REIT status

Cleveland -- Forest City Enterprises, Forest City Realty Trust announced the completion of the merger of FCE Merger Sub, Inc., an Ohio corporation, with and into Forest City Enterprises, Inc., with Forest City Enterprises, Inc. surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.



The merger marks the final step in the company’s planned conversion to real estate investment trust (REIT) status for the taxable year ending December 31, 2016.



Forest City received the necessary shareholder approvals with respect to the merger at a special meeting of shareholders held on October 20, 2015. The merger was effective as of 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on December 31, 2015, and was immediately followed by a conversion of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. into a Delaware limited partnership, which will serve as the operating partnership for the company.



Shareholders of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. automatically became shareholders of Forest City Realty Trust, Inc., which began operating as a REIT on January 1, 2016. Shares of the company’s common stock will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols “FCEA” and “FCEB.”



“We are thrilled to complete the conversion process and begin operating as a REIT,” said David J. LaRue, president and CEO of Forest City. “Forest City has a rich history, from our founding by immigrant families in 1920, to becoming a public company in 1960, to this important next chapter as a REIT. I want to thank our shareholders for their support, and acknowledge the dedication and hard work of our internal teams and outside advisors in making this conversion a reality.”