| Type | Public (NYSE: RPT) |
|---|---|
| Industry | real estate investment trusts |
| Genre | community shopping centers, regional mall |
| Founded | 1950 |
| Founder(s) | Aaron & William Gershenson |
| Headquarters | Farmington Hills, Michigan, U.S. |
| Number of locations | 88 |
| Area served | Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee |
| Key people | Stephen R. Blank, Chairman Dennis Gershenson, President & CEO Greg Andrews, CFO |
| Employees | 150 |
| Website | [1] www.rgpt.com |
Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (R-G) is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT). As of 2009, it owned 88 properties comprising 19,800,000 square feet (1,840,000 m2) of gross leasable area in 13 United States. The company is headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan and employs 200 people. Ramco-Gershenson is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol RPT.[1][2]
Contents |
The A & W Management Company was founded in 1950 by Aaron & William Gershenson. They developed more than 70 shopping centers in the Midwest over nearly half a century. The original founders stepped down in 1975, succeeded by William’s sons and one unrelated associate, Michael Ward. The company was renamed, Ramco-Gershenson, Inc.
The company and 22 key properties merged with RPS Realty Trust on May 1, 1996. The resulting company was named, Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust and has expanded by both development and acquisition.
Stock prices for REITs plunged following the real estate collapse in the late 2000's. Beginning in 2008, Inland American and Equity One Inc. each began to pursue Ramco-Gershenson by acquiring 9% and 9.63% (respectively) of the company's stock. R-G initially rebuffed the overtures and adopted a poison pill strategy with a shareholder rights plan. However, R-G had two problems: almost half of their debt was scheduled to come due in 2009/2010 and credit was tight. Nearly two-thirds of the company's shopping centers are in states like Michigan, which have experienced the most severe effects of the recession.[3] In May, 2009 R-G agreed to seat two members on its board proposed by Equity One. In late 2009, R-G announced that it had secured financing for significant debt and was not interested in merging with another company.[4]