REIT to Buy Nat'l Properties

Commercial Net Lease Realty Inc., Orlando, Fla., and National Properties Corp., Des Moines, Iowa, have announced a merger agreement under which CNLR will acquire National Properties for an estimated total consideration of $61 million.CNLR said it will issue approximately 1.64 million shares of common stock in the transaction, and holders of National Properties common stock will be entitled to receive four shares of CNLR common stock for each National Properties share they own. The total consideration includes an assumption of debt and a special preclosing dividend of $20.8 million to be paid by National Properties to its shareholders. "This transaction reflects a continuation of our investment focus on high-quality retail properties subject to long-term net leases with established tenants," said Craig Macnab, CNLR's chief executive officer and president. "These properties will provide additional geographic and retail concept diversification." CNLR can be found on the Web at http://www.cnlreit.com.