Bay Apartment Communities receives expanded $80 million credit facility; appoints new chief financial officer.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 1995--Bay Apartment Communities (NYSE:BYA) said it has negotiated a new $80 million acquisition credit facility from General Electric Capital Corp. (G.E. Capital).

This new financing replaces an existing $40 million facility that Bay received from G.E. Capital upon completion of its initial public offering in March 1994.

The new facility, which is a two-year commitment with an additional one-year extension option, carries an interest rate of 225 basis points over the 30-day LIBOR. In addition, Bay paid $400,000 as a front end fee for the initial two-year commitment.

"We are very pleased to receive this expanded acquisition financing," said Gilbert M. Meyer, chairman and president of Bay. "We have significantly reduced our short-term borrowing costs because G.E. Capital has not only lowered the interest rate, but also has waived many of the traditional costs. In addition, this new financing allows for greater borrowing relative to pledged collateral and provides us enhanced flexibility with both potential acquisitions and tax-exempt bond financings.

"This credit facility provides us the resources to capitalize on what we believe is an opportunistic acquisition environment in our markets," he added.

Meyer noted that since completing its IPO in March 1994, the company has invested approximately $52 million to acquire four apartment communities comprised of nearly 1,150 apartment homes. These acquisitions included the Village Square Apartments, a 154-apartment home community in San Francisco; Reflections, a 516-apartment home community in Fresno; Brandywine, a 252-apartment home community in Rancho Cordova, near Sacramento; and Crossbrook, a 226-apartment home community in Rohnert Park. In addition, the company has contracted to purchase Rivershore Apartments, a 245-apartment home community in Bay Point, Calif. In total, these transactions will increase Bay's portfolio to 22 apartment communities containing nearly 5,000 apartment homes.

"These newly acquired communities had high occupancy levels and were purchased at well below replacement cost. We feel there are a number of similarly attractive acquisition opportunities in our market area," Meyer said. "We will continue to focus our acquisition efforts on high quality communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California where we can add value with our property refurbishment, refinancing and management capabilities."

Meyer also announced the appointment of James L. Andersen as vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer.

Andersen, 33, joins Bay from the Trammell Crow Company, the nation's largest commercial developer and property manager, where he was most recently executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Pacific Northwest region. Before that, he held positions of senior regional controller and area controller.

Prior to joining Trammell Crow, he spent three years with the firm of Peat, Marwick and Mitchell in its Honolulu and Los Angeles offices. A certified public accountant, Andersen graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in accounting from Loyola Marymount University.

Bay Apartment Communities is a self-managed, fully integrated multifamily real estate investment trust focused on the acquisition, development and management of high quality apartment communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California. The company has been operating in the market since the 1970s. Bay Apartment Communities completed an initial public offering of approximately 10.8 million shares of common stock at $20 per share on March 17, 1994.

CONTACT: Bay Apartment Communities

Gilbert M. Meyer, 408/983-1500