Prime Property Debt Downgraded

The ratings on the senior debt of Prime Property Fund and Prime Property Funding II Inc. have been lowered from A2 to A3 by Moody's Investors Service.The rating outlook is stable. Prime Property Funding II, a subsidiary of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, was created to issue debt securities and to assign the proceeds to Prime Property Fund in exchange for a funding agreement, Moody's said. The rating agency attributed the downgrades to three considerations: "debt protection measures, including high leverage, are more consistent with the A3 rating; risks associated with the [conversion to a private real estate investment trust] are material, although the fund's management is taking steps to minimize such risks; and the fund's ability to substantially delever may prove difficult as the fund pursues a more aggressive growth strategy over the next two years." Moody's can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.