PREIT to Buy Crown American

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Philadelphia, is acquiring Crown American Realty Trust, Johnstown, Pa., in a merger that is expected to position PREIT as a major mid-Atlantic shopping mall REIT.PREIT is paying an acquisition price of 0.3589 PREIT common shares for each Crown share, PREIT said. The price includes a $20 million termination fee payable to either PREIT or Crown if the merger is not completed "in certain specified circumstances." PREIT also expects to assume Crown's mortgage debt of $619.1 million. Following the completion of the merger, and a previously announced transaction with Rouse, PREIT said it will own interests in 54 retail properties with 33.5 million square feet in 12 states, with approximately 82% of the portfolio located in the mid-Atlantic region. The company is also expanding its board of trustees by two members with the addition of Mark Pasquerilla, Crown's chairman and chief executive officer, and another member of Crown's current board of trustees. The REITs can be found online at http://www.preit.com and http://www.crownam.com.