Crescent to Become Pure Office REIT

Crescent Real Estate Equities Co., Fort Worth, Texas, has announced that it plans to simplify its business model and become a "pure play" office real estate investment trust.Elements of the plan include the sale of all resort and hotel assets, the sale of resort residential developments, and the opportunistic sale of office properties, Crescent said. Other elements include a reduction of general and administrative expenses by more than $17 million and the use of sale proceeds to retire debt. "By becoming a pure-play office REIT, we will have a simpler business model with a higher-quality earnings stream that will be easier to understand and to value," said John C. Goff, Crescent's vice chairman and chief executive officer. The REIT also announced that Jerry R. Crenshaw Jr., the company's chief financial officer, intends to resign as part of the simplification of the business model, at which time Jane E. Mody, managing director of capital markets, will be given the additional title of CFO. The company can be found online at http://www.crescent.com.