As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 5, 2007

 

Registration No. 333-      

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

 

Form S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

 

BioMed Realty Trust, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

17140 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 222

San Diego, California 92128

(858) 485-9840

(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

 

Alan D. Gold

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

BioMed Realty Trust, Inc.

17140 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 222

San Diego, California 92128

(858) 485-9840

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

 

 

 

 

Copy to:

Craig M. Garner, Esq.

Latham & Watkins LLP

12636 High Bluff Drive, Suite 400

San Diego, California 92130

(858) 523-5400

 

 

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:  From time to time after the effective date of this Registration Statement, as determined by market conditions.

 

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.  o

 

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box.  þ

 

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement of the same offering.  o                

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o                

 

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  þ

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  o

 

 

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS

 

5,557,318 Shares

 

BioMed Realty Trust, Inc.

 

Common Stock

 

 

Our operating partnership, BioMed Realty, L.P., issued and sold $175,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 4.50% Exchangeable Senior Notes due 2026 in a private transaction on September 25, 2006. The notes are fully guaranteed by us. Under certain circumstances, we may issue shares of our common stock upon the exchange or redemption of the notes. In such circumstances, the recipients of such common stock, whom we refer to as the selling stockholders, may use this prospectus to resell from time to time the shares of our common stock that we may issue to them upon the exchange or redemption of the notes. Additional selling stockholders may be named by future prospectus supplements.

 

The registration of the shares of our common stock covered by this prospectus does not necessarily mean that any of the selling stockholders will exchange their notes for our common stock, that upon any exchange or redemption of the notes we will elect, in our sole and absolute discretion, to exchange or redeem some or all of the notes for shares of our common stock rather than cash, or that any shares of our common stock received upon exchange or redemption of the notes will be sold by the selling stockholders.

 

We will receive no proceeds from any issuance of shares of our common stock to the selling stockholders or from any sale of such shares by the selling stockholders, but we have agreed to pay certain registration expenses relating to such shares of our common stock. The selling stockholders from time to time may offer and sell the shares held by them directly or through agents or broker-dealers on terms to be determined at the time of sale, as described in more detail in this prospectus.

 

To assist us in complying with certain federal income tax requirements applicable to real estate investment trusts, or REITs, our charter contains certain restrictions relating to the ownership and transfer of our stock, including an ownership limit of 9.8% on our common stock. See “Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer” beginning on page 10 of this prospectus.

 

Our common stock currently trades on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol “BMR.” On January 3, 2007, the last reported sales price of our common stock on the NYSE was $28.56 per share.

 

 

 

 

You should consider the risks that we have described in “Risk Factors” on page 2 before investing in our securities.           

 

 

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.           

 

 

 

 

 

The date of this prospectus is January 5, 2007

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

References in this prospectus to “we,” “our,” “us” and “our company” refer to BioMed Realty Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation, BioMed Realty, L.P., and any of our other subsidiaries. BioMed Realty, L.P. is a Maryland limited partnership of which we are the sole general partner and to which we refer in this prospectus as our operating partnership.

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, in an accompanying prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference herein or therein. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information or make any representation that is different. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the registered securities to which they relate, and this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where, or to any person to whom, it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement is correct on any date after the respective dates of the prospectus and such prospectus supplement or supplements, as applicable, even though this prospectus and such prospectus supplement or supplements are delivered or shares are sold pursuant to the prospectus and such prospectus supplement or supplements at a later date. Since the respective dates of the prospectus contained in this registration statement and any accompanying prospectus supplement, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed.

 

We are a REIT focused on acquiring, developing, owning, leasing and managing laboratory and office space for the life science industry. We were formed on April 30, 2004 and commenced operations after completing the initial public offering, or IPO, of our common stock in August 2004. Our tenants primarily include biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, scientific research institutions, government agencies and other entities involved in the life science industry. Our current properties and primary acquisition targets are generally located in markets with well-established reputations as centers for scientific research, including Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York/New Jersey, as well as in research parks near or adjacent to universities.

 

As of September 30, 2006, we owned or had interests in 52 properties located principally in Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York/New Jersey, consisting of 89 buildings with approximately 7.7 million rentable square feet of laboratory and office space, which was approximately 92.4% leased to 98 tenants. Of the approximately 584,000 square feet of unleased space, 392,000 square feet, or 67.1% of our unleased square footage, was under redevelopment. We also owned undeveloped land that we estimate can support up to 1.7 million rentable square feet of laboratory and office space.

 

Our senior management team has significant experience in the real estate industry, principally focusing on properties designed for life science tenants. We operate as a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed REIT, providing management, leasing, development and administrative services to our properties. As of September 30, 2006, we had 76 employees.

 

Our principal offices are located at 17140 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 222, San Diego, California 92128. Our telephone number at that location is (858) 485-9840. Our website is located at www.biomedrealty.com. The information found on, or otherwise accessible through, our website is not incorporated into, and does not form a part of, this prospectus or any other report or document we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Investment in any securities offered pursuant to this prospectus involves risks. You should carefully consider the risk factors incorporated by reference to our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and the other information contained in this prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and the risk factors and other information contained in the applicable prospectus supplement before acquiring any of such securities. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities. Please also refer to the section below entitled “Forward-Looking Statements.”

 

 

This prospectus is part of an automatic shelf registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this process, selling stockholders named in this prospectus may sell our common stock from time to time. This prospectus provides you with a general description of our common stock any selling stockholders may offer. Each time any selling stockholders sell shares of our common stock, the selling stockholders will provide a prospectus and any prospectus supplement containing specific information about the terms of the applicable offering, as required by law. Such prospectus supplement may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement together with additional information described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information” before you decide whether to invest in our common stock.

 

Selling stockholders may offer the shares directly, through agents, or to or through underwriters. A prospectus supplement may describe the terms of the plan of distribution and set forth the names of any underwriters involved in the sale of the securities. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page 36 for more information on this topic.

 

 

We file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You may read and copy any document we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the public reference room of the Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Information about the operation of the public reference room may be obtained by calling the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. Copies of all or a portion of the registration statement can be obtained from the public reference room of the Securities and Exchange Commission upon payment of prescribed fees. Our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our registration statement, are also available to you on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

We have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement on Form S-3, of which this prospectus is a part, including exhibits, schedules and amendments filed with, or incorporated by reference in, this registration statement, under the Securities Act with respect to the securities registered hereby. This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and exhibits and schedules to the registration statement. For further information with respect to our company and the securities registered hereby, reference is made to the registration statement, including the exhibits to the registration statement. Statements contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement as to the contents of any contract or other document referred to in, or incorporated by reference in, this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement are not necessarily complete and, where that contract is an exhibit to the registration statement, each statement is qualified in all respects by the exhibit to which the reference relates. Copies of the registration statement, including the exhibits and schedules to the registration statement, may be examined without charge at the public reference room of the Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Information about the operation of the public reference room may be obtained by calling the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. Copies of all or a portion of the registration statement can be obtained from the public reference room of the Securities and Exchange Commission upon payment of prescribed fees. Our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our registration statement, are also available to you on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus. The incorporated documents contain significant information about us, our business and our finances. Any information contained in this prospectus or in any document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus will be deemed to have been modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus, in any other document we subsequently file with the Securities and Exchange Commission that also is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus or in any applicable prospectus supplement modifies or supersedes the original statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to be a part of this prospectus. We incorporate by reference the following documents we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission:

 

 

 

To the extent that any information contained in any current report on Form 8-K, or any exhibit thereto, was furnished to, rather than filed with, the Securities and Exchange Commission, such information or exhibit is specifically not incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

 

We will provide without charge to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, on written or oral request of that person, a copy of any or all of the documents we are incorporating by reference into this prospectus, other than exhibits to those documents unless those exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference into those documents. A written request should be addressed to BioMed Realty Trust, Inc., 17140 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 222, San Diego, California 92128, Attention: Secretary.

 

This prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents that we incorporate by reference in each contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (set forth in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act). Also, documents we subsequently file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and incorporate by reference will contain forward-looking statements. In particular, statements pertaining to our capital resources, portfolio performance and results of operations contain forward-looking statements. Likewise, our pro forma financial statements and other pro forma information incorporated by reference and all our statements regarding anticipated growth in our funds from operations and anticipated market conditions, demographics and results of operations are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, and you should not rely on them as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements depend on assumptions, data or methods which may be incorrect or imprecise, and we may not be able to realize them. We do not guarantee that the transactions and events described will happen as described (or that they will happen at all). You can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “pro forma,” “estimates” or “anticipates” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases. You can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements:

 

 

 

While forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs, they are not guarantees of future performance. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could impact our future results, performance or transactions, see the section above entitled “Risk Factors,” including the risks incorporated therein from our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as updated by our future filings.

 

We are filing the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part pursuant to our contractual obligation to the holders of the notes named in the section entitled “Selling Stockholders.” We will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale of shares of our common stock from time to time by such selling stockholders.

 

The selling stockholders will pay any underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses they incur for brokerage, accounting, tax or legal services or any other expenses they incur in disposing of the shares. We will bear all other costs, fees and expenses incurred in effecting the registration of the shares covered by this prospectus. These may include, without limitation, all registration and filing fees, NYSE listing fees, fees and expenses of our counsel and accountants, and blue sky fees and expenses.

 

The 4.50% Exchangeable Senior Notes due 2026, or the notes, were originally issued by BioMed Realty, L.P., our operating partnership, and sold by the initial purchasers of the notes in transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act to persons reasonably believed by the initial purchasers to be qualified institutional buyers as defined by Rule 144A under the Securities Act. Under certain circumstances, we may issue shares of our common stock upon the exchange or redemption of the notes. In such circumstances, the recipients of shares of our common stock, whom we refer to as the selling stockholders, may use this prospectus to resell from time to time the shares of our common stock that we may issue to them upon the exchange or redemption of the notes. Information about selling stockholders is set forth herein and information about additional selling stockholders may be set forth in a prospectus supplement, in a post-effective amendment, or in filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Exchange Act which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

 

Selling stockholders, including their transferees, pledgees or donees or their successors, may from time to time offer and sell pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement any or all of the shares of our common stock which we may issue upon the exchange or redemption of the notes.

 

The following table sets forth information, as of December 31, 2006, with respect to the selling stockholders and the number of shares of our common stock that would become beneficially owned by each stockholder should we issue our common stock to such selling stockholder that may be offered pursuant to this prospectus upon the exchange or redemption of the notes. The information is based on information provided by or on behalf of the selling stockholders. The selling stockholders may offer all, some or none of the shares of our common stock which we may issue upon the exchange or redemption of the notes. Because the selling stockholders may offer all or some portion of such shares of our common stock, we cannot estimate the number of shares of our common stock that will be held by the selling stockholders upon termination of any of these sales. In addition, the selling stockholders identified below may have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of all or a portion of their notes or shares of our common stock since the date on which they provided the information regarding their notes in transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

 

The number of shares of our common stock issuable upon the exchange or redemption of the notes shown in the table below assumes exchange of the full amount of notes held by each selling stockholder at the maximum exchange rate of 31.7561 shares of our common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes and a cash payment in

lieu of any fractional share. This exchange rate is subject to adjustment in certain events. Accordingly, the number of shares of our common stock issued upon the exchange or redemption of the notes may increase or decrease from time to time. The number of shares of our common stock owned by the other selling stockholders or any future transferee from any such holder assumes that they do not beneficially own any shares of common stock other than the common stock that we may issue to them upon the exchange or redemption of the notes.

 

Based upon information provided by the selling stockholders, none of the selling stockholders nor any of their affiliates, officers, directors or principal equity holders has held any positions or office or has had any material relationship with us within the past three years, with the exception of Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC, which acted as an initial purchaser in the original issuance of the notes on September 25, 2006 and which is also a lender under our credit facilities and has performed investment banking, commercial banking and advisory services for us and our affiliates in the ordinary course of business, including in connection with our follow-on common stock offerings in June 2005, May 2006 and August 2006.

 

To the extent any of the selling stockholders identified below are broker-dealers, they may be deemed to be, under interpretations of the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act.

 

 

 

 

 

This prospectus describes the general terms of our capital stock. For a more detailed description of these securities, you should read the applicable provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law, or MGCL, and our charter and bylaws.

 

Common Stock

 

Our charter provides that we may issue up to 100,000,000 shares of our common stock, $0.01 par value per share. Our charter authorizes our board of directors to amend our charter to increase or decrease the number of authorized shares of any class or series without stockholder approval. As of December 31, 2006, 65,425,598 shares of our common stock were issued and outstanding. Under Maryland law, stockholders generally are not liable for the corporation’s debts or obligations.

 

All shares of our common stock offered hereby will be duly authorized, fully paid and nonassessable. Subject to the preferential rights of any other class or series of stock and to the provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on transfer of stock, holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends on such stock if, as and when authorized by our board of directors out of assets legally available therefor and declared by us and to share ratably in the assets of our company legally available for distribution to our stockholders in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up after payment of or adequate provision for all known debts and liabilities of our company.

 

Subject to the provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on transfer of stock, each outstanding share of our common stock entitles the holder to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, including the election of directors and, except as provided with respect to any other class or series of stock, the holders of such shares will possess the exclusive voting power. There is no cumulative voting in the election of our directors, which means that the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock can elect all of the directors then standing for election and the holders of the remaining shares will not be able to elect any directors.

 

Holders of shares of our common stock have no preference, conversion, exchange, sinking fund, redemption or appraisal rights and have no preemptive rights to subscribe for any securities of our company. Subject to the provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on transfer of stock, shares of our common stock will have equal dividend, liquidation and other rights.

 

Under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation generally cannot dissolve, amend its charter, merge, sell all or substantially all of its assets, engage in a share exchange or engage in similar transactions outside the ordinary course of business unless such action is advised by the board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter unless a lesser percentage (but not less than a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter) is set forth in the corporation’s charter. Our charter provides, except with respect to an amendment to the section relating to the removal of directors and the corresponding reference in the general amendment provision, that the foregoing items may be approved by a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. However, Maryland law permits a corporation to transfer all or substantially all of its assets without the approval of the stockholders of the corporation to one or more persons if all of the equity interests of the person or persons are owned, directly or indirectly, by the corporation. Because operating assets may be held by a corporation’s subsidiaries, as in our situation, this may mean that our subsidiary can merge or transfer all of its assets without a vote of our stockholders.

 

Our charter authorizes our board of directors to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of our common stock into other classes or series of stock. Prior to issuance of shares of each class or series, our board of directors is required by the MGCL and our charter to set, subject to the provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on transfer of stock, the terms, preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption for each such class or series.

 

Power to Increase Authorized Stock and Issue Additional Shares of Our Common Stock

 

We believe that the power of our board of directors to amend our charter to increase the number of authorized shares of stock, to cause us to issue additional authorized but unissued shares of our common stock and to classify or

reclassify unissued shares of our common stock and thereafter to cause us to issue such classified or reclassified shares of stock will provide us with increased flexibility in structuring possible future financings and acquisitions and in meeting other needs which might arise. The additional classes or series, as well as the common stock, will be available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless stockholder consent is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities may be listed or traded. Although our board of directors does not intend to do so, it could authorize us to issue a class or series that could, depending upon the terms of the particular class or series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control of our company that might involve a premium price for our stockholders or otherwise be in their best interest.

 

Preferred Stock

 

Our charter provides that we may issue up to 15,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share. Our charter authorizes our board of directors to amend the charter to increase or decrease the number of authorized shares of any class or series without stockholder approval. As of December 31, 2006, no shares of preferred stock were issued and outstanding.

 

Our charter authorizes our board of directors to classify any unissued shares of preferred stock and to reclassify any previously classified but unissued shares of any class or series. Prior to issuance of shares of each class or series, our board of directors is required by the MGCL and our charter to set the terms, preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption for each such class or series. Thus, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock with terms and conditions which could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change of control of the company that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest.

 

The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power, dividend rights and other rights of holders of our common stock. Although the board of directors does not have the intention at this present time, it could establish a series of preferred stock, that could, depending on the terms of the series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control of us that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of the holders thereof. Management believes that the availability of preferred stock will provide the company with increased flexibility in structuring possible future financing and acquisitions and in meeting other needs that might arise.

 

Maryland law provides that no stockholders, including holders of preferred stock, shall be personally liable for our acts and obligations and that our funds and property shall be the only recourse for these acts or obligations.

 

Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer

 

To assist us in complying with certain federal income tax requirements applicable to REITs, we have adopted certain restrictions relating to the ownership and transfer of our stock. See “Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer.”

 

Transfer Agent and Registrar

 

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is The Bank of New York.

 

The following summary with respect to restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock sets forth certain general terms and provisions of our charter documents to which any prospectus supplement may relate. This summary does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our charter documents, as amended and supplemented from time to time. Copies of our existing charter documents are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

In order for us to qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, our stock must be beneficially owned by 100 or more persons during at least 335 days of a taxable year of twelve months (other than the first year for which an election to be a REIT has been made) or during a proportionate part of a shorter taxable year. Also, not more than 50% of the value of our outstanding shares of stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities) during the last half of a taxable year (other than the first year for which an election to be a REIT has been made).

 

Our charter contains restrictions on the number of shares of our stock that a person may own. No person may acquire or hold, directly or indirectly, in excess of 9.8% in value of the aggregate of our outstanding shares of capital stock. In addition, no person may acquire or hold, directly or indirectly, common stock in excess of 9.8% (in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our outstanding shares of common stock.

 

Our charter further prohibits (1) any person from owning shares of our stock that would result in our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code or otherwise cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT and (2) any person from transferring shares of our stock if the transfer would result in our stock being owned by fewer than 100 persons. Any person who acquires or intends to acquire shares of our stock that may violate any of these restrictions, or who is the intended transferee of shares of our stock which are transferred to a trust, as described below, is required to give us immediate notice and provide us with such information as we may request in order to determine the effect of the transfer on our status as a REIT. The above restrictions will not apply if our board of directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT.

 

Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, waive the ownership limit with respect to a particular stockholder if it:

 

 

As a condition of our waiver, our board of directors may require an opinion of counsel or IRS ruling satisfactory to our board of directors, and/or representations or undertakings from the applicant with respect to preserving our REIT status.

 

Any attempted transfer of our stock which, if effective, would result in our stock being owned by fewer than 100 persons will be null and void. Any attempted transfer of our stock which, if effective, would result in violation of the ownership limits discussed above or in our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code or otherwise failing to qualify as a REIT, will cause the number of shares causing the violation (rounded up to the nearest whole share) to be automatically transferred to a trust for the exclusive benefit of one or more charitable beneficiaries, and the proposed transferee will not acquire any rights in the shares. The automatic transfer will be deemed to be effective as of the close of business on the business day prior to the date of the transfer. Shares of our stock held in the trust will be issued and outstanding shares. The proposed transferee will not benefit economically from ownership of any shares of stock held in the trust, will have no rights to dividends, to vote the shares, or to any other rights attributable to the shares of stock held in the trust. The trustee of the trust will have all voting rights and rights to dividends or other distributions with respect to shares held in the trust. These rights will be exercised for the exclusive benefit of a charitable beneficiary. Any dividend or other distribution paid prior to our discovery that shares of stock have been transferred to the trust must be paid by the recipient to the trustee upon demand. Any dividend or other distribution authorized but unpaid will be paid when due to the trustee. Any dividend or distribution paid to the trustee will be held in trust for the charitable beneficiary. Subject to Maryland law, the trustee will have the authority (1) to rescind as void any vote cast by the proposed transferee prior to our discovery that the shares have been transferred to the trust and (2) to recast the vote in accordance with the desires of the trustee acting for the benefit of the charitable beneficiary. However, if we have already taken irreversible corporate action, then the trustee will not have the authority to rescind and recast the vote.

Within 20 days of receiving notice from us that shares of our stock have been transferred to the trust, the trustee will sell the shares to a person designated by the trustee, whose ownership of the shares will not violate the above ownership limitations. Upon the sale, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the shares sold will terminate and the trustee will distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the proposed transferee and to the charitable beneficiary as follows. The proposed transferee will receive the lesser of (1) the price paid by the proposed transferee for the shares or, if the proposed transferee did not give value for the shares in connection with the event causing the shares to be held in the trust (e.g., a gift, devise or other similar transaction), the market price of the shares on the day of the event causing the shares to be held in the trust and (2) the price received by the trustee from the sale or other disposition of the shares. Any net sale proceeds in excess of the amount payable to the proposed transferee will be paid immediately to the charitable beneficiary. If, prior to our discovery that shares of our stock have been transferred to the trust, the shares are sold by the proposed transferee, then (1) the shares will be deemed to have been sold on behalf of the trust and (2) to the extent that the proposed transferee received an amount for the shares that exceeds the amount he was entitled to receive, the excess must be paid to the trustee upon demand.

 

In addition, shares of our stock held in the trust will be deemed to have been offered for sale to us, or our designee, at a price per share equal to the lesser of (1) the price per share in the transaction that resulted in the transfer to the trust (or, in the case of a devise or gift, the market price at the time of the devise or gift) and (2) the market price on the date we, or our designee, accept the offer. We will have the right to accept the offer until the trustee has sold the shares. Upon a sale to us, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the shares sold will terminate and the trustee will distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the proposed transferee.

 

All certificates representing shares of our stock will bear a legend referring to the restrictions described above.

 

Every owner of 5% or more (or such lower percentage as required by the Code or the regulations promulgated thereunder) of our stock, within 30 days after the end of each taxable year, is required to give us written notice, stating his name and address, the number of shares of each class and series of our stock which he beneficially owns and a description of the manner in which the shares are held. Each such owner will provide us with such additional information as we may request in order to determine the effect, if any, of his beneficial ownership on our status as a REIT and to ensure compliance with the ownership limits. In addition, each stockholder will upon demand be required to provide us with such information as we may request in good faith in order to determine our status as a REIT and to comply with the requirements of any taxing authority or governmental authority or to determine such compliance.

 

These ownership limits could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.

 

The material terms and provisions of the Agreement of Limited Partnership of BioMed Realty, L.P. which we refer to as the “partnership agreement” are summarized below. For more detail, you should refer to the partnership agreement itself, a copy of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. For purposes of this section, references to “we,” “our,” “us” and “our company” refer to BioMed Realty Trust, Inc.

 

Management of Our Operating Partnership

 

Our operating partnership, BioMed Realty, L.P., is a Maryland limited partnership that was formed on April 30, 2004. Our company is the sole general partner of our operating partnership, and we conduct substantially all of our business in or through it. As sole general partner of our operating partnership, we exercise exclusive and complete responsibility and discretion in its day-to-day management and control. We can cause our operating partnership to enter into certain major transactions including acquisitions, dispositions and refinancings, subject to limited exceptions. The limited partners of our operating partnership may not transact business for, or participate in the management activities or decisions of, our operating partnership, except as provided in the partnership agreement and as required by applicable law. Some restrictions in the partnership agreement restrict our ability to engage in a business combination as more fully described in “— Termination Transactions” below.

The limited partners of our operating partnership expressly acknowledged that we, as general partner of our operating partnership, are acting for the benefit of our operating partnership, the limited partners and our stockholders collectively. Our company is under no obligation to give priority to the separate interests of the limited partners or our stockholders in deciding whether to cause our operating partnership to take or decline to take any actions. If there is a conflict between the interests of our stockholders on one hand and the limited partners on the other, we will endeavor in good faith to resolve the conflict in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners; provided, however, that for so long as we own a controlling interest in our operating partnership, any conflict that cannot be resolved in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners will be resolved in favor of our stockholders. We are not liable under the partnership agreement to our operating partnership or to any partner for monetary damages for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived by limited partners in connection with such decisions, so long as we have acted in good faith.

 

The partnership agreement provides that substantially all of our business activities, including all activities pertaining to the acquisition and operation of properties, must be conducted through our operating partnership, and that our operating partnership must be operated in a manner that will enable our company to satisfy the requirements for being classified as a REIT.

 

Transferability of Interests

 

Except in connection with a transaction described in “— Termination Transactions” below, we, as general partner, may not voluntarily withdraw from our operating partnership, or transfer or assign all or any portion of our interest in our operating partnership, without the consent of the holders of a majority of the limited partnership interests (including our 95.3% limited partnership interest therein) except for permitted transfers to our affiliates. Currently, any transfer of units by the limited partners, except to us, as general partner, to an affiliate of the transferring limited partner, to other original limited partners, to immediate family members of the transferring limited partner, to a trust for the benefit of a charitable beneficiary, or to a lending institution as collateral for a bona fide loan, subject to specified limitations, will be subject to a right of first refusal by us and must be made only to “accredited investors” as defined under Rule 501 of the Securities Act.

 

Capital Contributions

 

We contributed to our operating partnership all of the net proceeds of our IPO as our initial capital contribution in exchange for a 91.5% partnership interest. Some of our directors, executive officers and their affiliates contributed properties and assets to our operating partnership and became limited partners and, together with other limited partners, initially owned the remaining 8.5% limited partnership interest. As of December 31, 2006, we owned a 95.8% partnership interest and other limited partners, including some of our directors, executive officers and their affiliates, owned the remaining 4.2% partnership interest.

 

The partnership agreement provides that we, as general partner, may determine that our operating partnership requires additional funds for the acquisition of additional properties or for other purposes. Under the partnership agreement, we are obligated to contribute the proceeds of any offering of stock as additional capital to our operating partnership. Our operating partnership is authorized to cause partnership interests to be issued for less than fair market value if we conclude in good faith that such issuance is in the interests of our operating partnership.

 

The partnership agreement provides that we may make additional capital contributions, including properties, to our operating partnership in exchange for additional partnership units. If we contribute additional capital and receive additional partnership interests for the capital contribution, our percentage interests will be increased on a proportionate basis based on the amount of the additional capital contributions and the value of our operating partnership at the time of the contributions. Conversely, the percentage interests of the other limited partners will be decreased on a proportionate basis. In addition, if we contribute additional capital and receive additional partnership interests for the capital contribution, the capital accounts of the partners may be adjusted upward or downward to reflect any unrealized gain or loss attributable to the properties as if there were an actual sale of the properties at the fair market value thereof. Limited partners have no preemptive right or obligation to make additional capital contributions.

Our operating partnership could issue preferred partnership interests in connection with acquisitions of property or otherwise. Any such preferred partnership interests would have priority over common partnership interests with respect to distributions from our operating partnership, including the partnership interests that our wholly owned subsidiaries own.

 

Amendments of the Partnership Agreement

 

Amendments to the partnership agreement may be proposed by us, as general partner, or by limited partners owning at least 25% of the units held by limited partners.

 

Generally, the partnership agreement may be amended, modified or terminated only with the approval of partners holding 50% of all outstanding units (including the units held by us as general partner and as a limited partner). However, as general partner, we will have the power to unilaterally amend the partnership agreement without obtaining the consent of the limited partners as may be required to:

 

 

Amendments that would convert a limited partner’s interest into a general partner’s interest, adversely affect the limited liability of a limited partner, alter a partner’s right to receive any distributions or allocations of profits or losses or materially alter or modify the redemption rights described below (other than a change to reflect the seniority of any distribution or liquidation rights of any preferred units issued in accordance with the partnership agreement) must be approved by each limited partner that would be adversely affected by such amendment; provided that any such amendment does not require the unanimous consent of all the partners who are adversely affected unless the amendment is to be effective against all adversely affected partners.

 

In addition, without the written consent of limited partners holding a majority of the units, we, as general partner, may not do any of the following:

 

 

 

Redemption/Exchange Rights

 

Limited partners who acquired units in our formation transactions have the right to require our operating partnership to redeem part or all of their units for cash based upon the fair market value of an equivalent number of shares of our common stock at the time of the redemption. Alternatively, we may elect to acquire those units in exchange for shares of our common stock. Our acquisition will be on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment in the event of stock splits, stock dividends, issuance of stock rights, specified extraordinary distributions and similar events. We presently anticipate that we will elect to issue shares of our common stock in exchange for units in connection with each redemption request, rather than having our operating partnership redeem the units for cash. With each redemption or exchange, we increase our company’s percentage ownership interest in our operating partnership. Limited partners who hold units may exercise this redemption right from time to time, in whole or in part, except when, as a consequence of shares of our common stock being issued, any person’s actual or constructive stock ownership would exceed our company’s ownership limits, or violate any other restriction as provided in our charter as described under the section entitled “Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer.” In all cases, unless we agree otherwise, no limited partner may exercise its redemption right for fewer than 1,000 units or, if a limited partner holds fewer than 1,000 units, all of the units held by such limited partner.

 

Issuance of Additional Units, Common Stock or Convertible Securities

 

As sole general partner, we have the ability to cause our operating partnership to issue additional units representing general and limited partnership interests. These additional units may include preferred limited partnership units. In addition, we may issue additional shares of our common stock or convertible securities, but only if we cause our operating partnership to issue to us partnership interests or rights, options, warrants or convertible or exchangeable securities of our operating partnership having parallel designations, preferences and other rights, so that the economic interests of our operating partnership’s interests issued are substantially similar to the securities that we have issued.

 

Tax Matters

 

We are the tax matters partner of our operating partnership. We have authority to make tax elections under the Code on behalf of our operating partnership.

 

Allocations of Net Income and Net Losses to Partners

 

The net income or net loss of our operating partnership generally will be allocated to us, as the general partner, and to the limited partners in accordance with our respective percentage interests in our operating partnership. However, in some cases losses may be disproportionately allocated to partners who have guaranteed debt of our operating partnership. The allocations described above are subject to special allocations relating to depreciation deductions and to compliance with the provisions of Sections 704(b) and 704(c) of the Code and the associated Treasury regulations. See “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations — Tax Aspects of Our Operating Partnership, the Subsidiary Partnerships and the Limited Liability Companies.”

 

Operations and Distributions

 

The partnership agreement provides that we, as general partner, will determine and distribute the net operating cash revenues of our operating partnership, as well as the net sales and refinancing proceeds, in such amount as determined by us in our sole discretion, quarterly, pro rata in accordance with the partners’ percentage interests.

The partnership agreement provides that our operating partnership will assume and pay when due, or reimburse us for payment of all costs and expenses relating to the operations of, or for the benefit of, our operating partnership.

 

Termination Transactions

 

The partnership agreement provides that our company may not engage in any merger, consolidation or other combination with or into another person, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or any reclassification or any recapitalization or change in outstanding shares of our equity interests, each a termination transaction, unless in connection with a termination transaction either:

 

(1) all limited partners will receive, or have the right to elect to receive, for each unit an amount of cash, securities, or other property equal to the product of:

 

 

provided that, if, in connection with a termination transaction, a purchase, tender or exchange offer is made to and accepted by the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of our common stock, each holder of units will receive, or will have the right to elect to receive, the greatest amount of cash, securities, or other property which such holder would have received had it exercised its redemption right and received shares of our common stock in exchange for its units immediately prior to the expiration of such purchase, tender or exchange offer and accepted such purchase, tender or exchange offer, or

 

(2) the following conditions are met:

 

 

Term

 

Our operating partnership will continue in full force and effect until December 31, 2104, or until sooner dissolved in accordance with its terms or as otherwise provided by law.

 

Indemnification and Limitation of Liability

 

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the partnership agreement requires our operating partnership to indemnify us, as general partner, and our officers, directors, employees, agents and any other persons we may

designate from and against any and all claims arising from operations of our operating partnership in which any indemnitee may be involved, or is threatened to be involved, as a party or otherwise, unless it is established that:

 

 

Similarly, we, as general partner of our operating partnership, and our officers, directors, agents or employees, are not liable or accountable to our operating partnership for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived as a result of errors in judgment or mistakes of fact or law or any act or omission so long as we acted in good faith.

 

The following summary of certain provisions of Maryland law and of our charter and bylaws is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to Maryland law and our charter and bylaws, copies of which are exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

 

Our Board of Directors

 

Our charter and bylaws provide that our board of directors may establish the number of directors of our company as long as the number is not fewer than the minimum required under the MGCL nor, unless our bylaws are amended, more than 15. Any vacancy may be filled, at any regular meeting or at any special meeting called for that purpose, by a majority of the remaining directors.

 

Pursuant to our charter, each of our directors is elected by our stockholders to serve until the next annual meeting and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualifies. Holders of shares of our common stock will have no right to cumulative voting in the election of directors. Consequently, at each annual meeting of stockholders, the holders of a majority of the shares of our common stock will be able to elect all of our directors.

 

Removal of Directors

 

Our charter provides that a director may be removed only by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast generally in the election of directors. This provision, when coupled with the provision in our bylaws authorizing our board of directors to fill vacant directorships, precludes stockholders from removing incumbent directors and filling the vacancies created by such removal with their own nominees.

 

Business Combinations

 

Maryland law prohibits “business combinations” between us and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include a merger, consolidation, share exchange or, in certain circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer, issuance or transfer by us of equity securities, liquidation plan or reclassification of equity securities. Maryland law defines an interested stockholder as:

 

 

A person is not an interested stockholder if our board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which the person otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. However, in approving a transaction, our board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by our board of directors.

After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between us and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by our board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:

 

 

These super-majority vote requirements do not apply if our common stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their stock in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its stock.

 

The statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are approved or exempted by the board of directors before the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Our board of directors has adopted a resolution exempting any business combination between us and any person from the business combination provisions of the MGCL, provided such business combination is first approved by our board of directors (including a majority of the directors who are not affiliates or associates of such person). However, this resolution may be altered or repealed in whole or in part at any time.

 

We can provide no assurance that our board of directors will not amend or rescind this resolution in the future. If this resolution is repealed, or our board of directors does not otherwise approve a business combination, the business combination statute may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer.

 

Control Share Acquisitions

 

The MGCL provides that “control shares” of a Maryland corporation acquired in a “control share acquisition” have no voting rights except to the extent approved at a special meeting of stockholders by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Shares owned by the acquiring person, or by officers or by employees who are our directors, are excluded from shares entitled to vote on the matter. “Control shares” are voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other such shares of stock previously acquired by the acquiror or in respect of which the acquiror is able to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), would entitle the acquiror to exercise voting power in electing directors within one of the following ranges of voting power:

 

 

Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A “control share acquisition” means the acquisition of control shares, subject to certain exceptions.

 

A person who has made or proposes to make a control share acquisition, upon satisfaction of certain conditions (including an undertaking to pay expenses), may compel our board of directors to call a special meeting of stockholders to be held within 50 days of demand to consider the voting rights of the shares. If no request for a meeting is made, the corporation may itself present the question at any stockholders meeting.

 

If voting rights are not approved at the meeting or if the acquiring person does not deliver an acquiring person statement as required by the statute, then, subject to certain conditions and limitations, the corporation may redeem any or all of the control shares (except those for which voting rights have previously been approved) for fair value determined, without regard to the absence of voting rights for the control shares, as of the date of the last control share acquisition by the acquiror or of any meeting of stockholders at which the voting rights of such shares are considered and not approved. If voting rights for control shares are approved at a stockholders meeting and the acquiror becomes entitled to vote a majority of the shares entitled to vote, all other stockholders may exercise

appraisal rights. The fair value of the shares as determined for purposes of such appraisal rights may not be less than the highest price per share paid by the acquiror in the control share acquisition.

 

The control share acquisition statute does not apply (1) to shares acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if the corporation is a party to the transaction or (2) to acquisitions approved or exempted by the charter or bylaws of the corporation.

 

Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the control share acquisition statute any and all acquisitions by any person of our common stock. We can provide no assurance that our board of directors will not amend or eliminate such provision in the future. Should this happen, the control share acquisition statute may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer.

 

Other Anti-Takeover Provisions of Maryland Law

 

Subtitle 8 of Title 3 of the MGCL permits a Maryland corporation with a class of equity securities registered under the Exchange Act and with at least three independent directors to elect to be subject to any or all of five provisions:

 

 

A corporation can elect into this statute by provision in its charter or bylaws or by a resolution of its board of directors. Furthermore, a corporation can elect to be subject to the above provisions regardless of any contrary provisions in the charter or bylaws.

 

Through provisions in our charter and bylaws unrelated to Subtitle 8, (1) vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining directors, (2) the number of directors may be fixed only by the vote of the directors and (3) a two-thirds vote is required to remove any director from the board.

 

Amendment to Our Charter and Bylaws

 

Our charter may generally be amended only if declared advisable by our board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of the stockholders entitled to cast at least a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter under consideration. However, the provision regarding director removal and the corresponding amendment provision may be amended only if advised by the board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of the stockholders entitled to cast not less than two-thirds of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Our bylaws provide that only our board of directors may amend or repeal our bylaws or adopt new laws.

 

Advance Notice of Director Nominations and New Business

 

Our bylaws provide that with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders, nominations of persons for election to our board of directors and the proposal of business to be considered by stockholders may be made only:

 

 

With respect to special meetings of stockholders, only the business specified in our company’s notice of meeting may be brought before the meeting of stockholders and nominations of persons for election to our board of directors may be made only:

 

 

Generally, under our bylaws, a stockholder seeking to nominate a director or bring other business before our annual meeting of stockholders must deliver a notice to our secretary not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the 120th day prior to the first anniversary of the date of mailing of the notice to stockholders for the prior year’s annual meeting. For a stockholder seeking to nominate a candidate for our board of directors, the notice must describe various matters regarding the nominee, including name, address, occupation and number of shares held, and other specified matters. For a stockholder seeking to propose other business, the notice must include a description of the proposed business, the reasons for the proposal and other specified matters.

 

Anti-Takeover Effect of Certain Provisions of Maryland Law and of Our Charter and Bylaws

 

The provisions of our charter on removal of directors and the advance notice provisions of the bylaws could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control of our company that might involve a premium price for our common stockholders or otherwise be in their best interest. Likewise, if our company’s board of directors were to rescind the resolution exempting business combinations from the business combination provisions of the MGCL (or does not otherwise approve a business combination) or if the provision in the bylaws opting out of the control share acquisition provisions of the MGCL were rescinded, these provisions of the MGCL could have similar anti-takeover effects.

 

Ownership Limit

 

Our charter provides that no person or entity may beneficially own, or be deemed to own by virtue of the applicable constructive ownership provisions of the Code, more than 9.8% in value of the aggregate of our outstanding shares of capital stock or more than 9.8% of the outstanding shares of our common stock, whichever is more restrictive. We refer to this restriction as the “ownership limit.” For a fuller description of this restriction and the constructive ownership rules, see “Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer.”

 

The following is a general summary of the material United States federal income tax considerations regarding our election to be taxed as a REIT and the ownership and disposition of our common stock offered by this prospectus. This summary is for general information only and is not tax advice.

 

The information in this summary is based on current law, including:

 

 

in each case, as of the date of this prospectus. In addition, the administrative interpretations and practices of the IRS include its practices and policies as expressed in private letter rulings that are not binding on the IRS except with

respect to the particular taxpayers who requested and received those rulings. Future legislation, Treasury regulations, administrative interpretations and practices and/or court decisions may adversely affect the tax considerations contained in this discussion. Any such change could apply retroactively to transactions preceding the date of the change.

 

We have not requested and do not intend to request a ruling from the IRS that we qualify as a REIT, and the statements in this discussion are not binding on the IRS or any court. Thus, we can provide no assurance that the tax considerations contained in this summary will not be challenged by the IRS or will be sustained by a court if so challenged. This summary does not discuss any state, local or foreign tax consequences associated with our election to be taxed as a REIT or the ownership and disposition of our common stock.

 

You are urged to consult your tax advisors, regarding the specific tax consequences to you of:

 

 

This summary deals only with our common stock held as a “capital asset” (generally, property held for investment within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code). Your tax treatment will vary depending on your particular situation, and this discussion does not address all the tax consequences that may be relevant to you in light of your particular circumstances. State, local and foreign income tax laws may differ substantially from the corresponding federal income tax laws, and this discussion does not purport to describe any aspect of the tax laws of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction. In addition, this discussion does not address the tax consequences relevant to persons who receive special treatment under the United States federal income tax law, except to the extent discussed below under the headings “— Taxation of Tax-Exempt Stockholders” and “— Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders.” Holders of common stock receiving special treatment include, without limitation:

 

 

Taxation of Our Company

 

General.  We elected to be taxed as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Code, commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2004. We believe that we have been organized and have operated in a manner that has allowed us to qualify for taxation as a REIT under the Code commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2004, and we intend to continue to be organized and operate in this manner. However, qualification and taxation as a REIT depend upon our ability to meet the various qualification tests imposed under the Code,

including through our actual annual operating results, asset composition, distribution levels and diversity of stock ownership. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that we have been organized and have operated, or will continue to be organized and operated, in a manner so as to qualify or remain qualified as a REIT. See “— Failure to Qualify.”

 

The sections of the Code and the corresponding Treasury regulations that relate to qualification and operation as a REIT are highly technical and complex. The following sets forth the material aspects of the sections of the Code that govern the federal income tax treatment of a REIT and its stockholders. This summary is qualified in its entirety by the applicable Code provisions, relevant rules and regulations promulgated under the Code, and administrative and judicial interpretations of the Code and these rules and regulations.

 

Latham & Watkins LLP has acted as our tax counsel in connection with the registration of our common stock pursuant to this prospectus and our election to be taxed as a REIT. In connection with the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, Latham & Watkins LLP has rendered an opinion to us to the effect that, commencing with our taxable year ending December 31, 2004, we have been organized and have operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification as a REIT under the Code, and our proposed method of operation will enable us to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code. It must be emphasized that this opinion was based on various assumptions and representations as to factual matters, including representations made by us in a factual certificate provided by one of our officers. In addition, this opinion was based upon our factual representations set forth in this prospectus. Moreover, our qualification and taxation as a REIT depend upon our ability to meet the various qualification tests imposed under the Code which are discussed below, including through actual annual operating results, asset composition, distribution levels and diversity of stock ownership, the results of which have not been and will not be reviewed by Latham & Watkins LLP. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that our actual results of operation for any particular taxable year will satisfy those requirements. Latham & Watkins LLP has no obligation to update its opinion subsequent to its date. Further, the anticipated income tax treatment described in this prospectus may be changed, perhaps retroactively, by legislative, administrative or judicial action at any time. See “— Failure to Qualify.”

 

Provided we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we generally will not be required to pay federal corporate income taxes on our net income that is currently distributed to our stockholders. This treatment substantially eliminates the “double taxation” that ordinarily results from investment in a C corporation. A C corporation generally is required to pay tax at the corporate level. Double taxation means taxation once at the corporate level when income is earned and once again at the stockholder level when that income is distributed. We will, however, be required to pay federal income tax as follows:

 

 

 

Requirements for Qualification as a Real Estate Investment Trust.  The Code defines a “REIT” as a corporation, trust or association:

 

(1) that is managed by one or more trustees or directors;

 

(2) that issues transferable shares or transferable certificates to evidence its beneficial ownership;

 

(3) that would be taxable as a domestic corporation, but for Sections 856 through 860 of the Code;

 

(4) that is not a financial institution or an insurance company within the meaning of certain provisions of the Code;

 

(5) that is beneficially owned by 100 or more persons;

 

(6) not more than 50% in value of the outstanding stock of which is owned, actually or constructively, by five or fewer individuals, including specified entities, during the last half of each taxable year; and

 

(7) that meets other tests, described below, regarding the nature of its income and assets and the amount of its distributions.

 

The Code provides that conditions (1) to (4), inclusive, must be met during the entire taxable year and that condition (5) must be met during at least 335 days of a taxable year of twelve months, or during a proportionate part of a taxable year of less than twelve months. Conditions (5) and (6) do not apply until after the first taxable year for which an election is made to be taxed as a REIT. For purposes of condition (6), pension funds and other specified tax-exempt entities generally are treated as individuals except that a “look-through” exception applies with respect to pension funds.

We believe that we have been organized, have operated and have issued sufficient shares of capital stock with sufficient diversity of ownership to allow us to satisfy conditions (1) through (7) inclusive during the relevant time periods. In addition, our charter provides for restrictions regarding the ownership and transfer of our shares that are intended to assist us in continuing to satisfy the share ownership requirements described in (5) and (6) above. These stock ownership and transfer restrictions are described in “Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer” in this prospectus. These restrictions, however, may not ensure that we will, in all cases, be able to satisfy the share ownership requirements described in (5) and (6) above. If we fail to satisfy these share ownership requirements, except as provided in the next sentence, our status as a REIT will terminate. If, however, we comply with the rules contained in applicable Treasury regulations that require us to ascertain the actual ownership of our shares and we do not know, or would not have known through the exercise of reasonable diligence, that we failed to meet the requirement described in condition (6) above, we will be treated as having met this requirement. See the section below entitled “— Failure to Qualify.”

 

In addition, we may not maintain our status as a REIT unless our taxable year is the calendar year. We have and will continue to have a calendar taxable year.

 

Ownership of Interests in Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies and Qualified REIT Subsidiaries.  In the case of a REIT which is a partner in a partnership or a member in a limited liability company treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, Treasury regulations provide that the REIT will be deemed to own its proportionate share of the assets of the partnership or limited liability company, as the case may be, based on its interest in partnership capital, subject to special rules relating to the 10% asset test described below. Also, the REIT will be deemed to be entitled to its proportionate share of the income of the entity. The assets and gross income of the partnership or limited liability company retain the same character in the hands of the REIT for purposes of Section 856 of the Code, including satisfying the gross income tests and the asset tests. Thus, our pro rata share of the assets and items of income of our operating partnership, including our operating partnership’s share of these items of any partnership or limited liability company in which it owns an interest, are treated as our assets and items of income for purposes of applying the requirements described in this prospectus, including the REIT income and asset tests described below. A brief summary of the rules governing the federal income taxation of partnerships and limited liability companies is set forth below in “— Tax Aspects of Our Operating Partnership, the Subsidiary Partnerships and the Limited Liability Companies.”

 

We have control of our operating partnership and the subsidiary partnerships and limited liability companies and intend to continue to operate them in a manner consistent with the requirements for our qualification as a REIT. In the future, we may be a limited partner or non-managing member in a partnership or limited liability company. If such a partnership or limited liability company were to take actions which could jeopardize our status as a REIT or require us to pay tax, we could be forced to dispose of our interest in such entity. In addition, it is possible that a partnership or limited liability company could take an action which could cause us to fail a REIT income or asset test, and that we would not become aware of such action in time to dispose of our interest in the partnership or limited liability company or take other corrective action on a timely basis. In that case, we could fail to qualify as a REIT unless we were entitled to relief, as described below. See “— Failure to Qualify.”

 

We may from time to time own and operate certain properties through wholly-owned subsidiaries that we intend to be treated as “qualified REIT subsidiaries” under the Code. A corporation will qualify as our qualified REIT subsidiary if we own 100% of its outstanding stock and we do not elect with the subsidiary to treat it as a “taxable REIT subsidiary,” as described below. For federal income tax purposes, a qualified REIT subsidiary is not treated as a separate corporation, and all assets, liabilities and items of income, deduction and credit of a qualified REIT subsidiary are treated as assets, liabilities and items of income, deduction and credit (as the case may be) of the parent REIT for all purposes under the Code, including the REIT qualification tests. Thus, in applying the federal income tax requirements described in this prospectus, any corporation in which we own a 100% interest (other than a taxable REIT subsidiary) is ignored, and all assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction and credit of such corporation are treated as our assets, liabilities and items of income, deduction, and credit. A qualified REIT subsidiary is not required to pay federal income tax, and our ownership of the stock of a qualified REIT subsidiary will not violate the restrictions on ownership of securities described below under “— Asset Tests.”

Ownership of Interests in Taxable REIT Subsidiaries.  A taxable REIT subsidiary is a corporation other than a REIT in which a REIT directly or indirectly holds stock, and that has made a joint election with the REIT to be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary. A taxable REIT subsidiary also includes any corporation, other than a REIT, with respect to which a taxable REIT subsidiary owns securities possessing more than 35% of the total voting power or value. Other than some activities relating to lodging and health care facilities, a taxable REIT subsidiary may generally engage in any business, including the provision of customary or non-customary services to tenants of its parent REIT. A taxable REIT subsidiary is subject to federal income tax as a regular C corporation. In addition, a taxable REIT subsidiary may be prevented from deducting interest on debt funded directly or indirectly by its parent REIT if certain tests regarding the taxable REIT subsidiary’s debt to equity ratio and interest expense are not satisfied. A REIT’s ownership of securities of taxable REIT subsidiaries will not be subject to the 10% or 5% asset tests described below. See “Asset Tests.”

 

We currently hold an interest in one taxable REIT subsidiary and may acquire securities in additional taxable REIT subsidiaries in the future.

 

Income Tests.  We must satisfy two gross income requirements annually to maintain our qualification as a REIT. First, in each taxable year, we must derive directly or indirectly at least 75% of our gross income, excluding gross income from prohibited transactions, from investments relating to real property or mortgages on real property, including “rents from real property” and, in certain circumstances, interest, or from certain types of temporary investments. Second, in each taxable year, we must derive at least 95% of our gross income, excluding gross income from prohibited transactions and certain hedges of indebtedness, from the real property investments described above, or from dividends, interest and gain from the sale or disposition of stock or securities, or from any combination of the foregoing. For these purposes, the term “interest” generally does not include any amount received or accrued, directly or indirectly, if the determination of all or some of the amount depends in any way on the income or profits of any person. However, an amount received or accrued generally will not be excluded from the term “interest” solely by reason of being based on a fixed percentage or percentages of receipts or sales.

 

Rents we receive from a tenant will qualify as “rents from real property” for the purpose of satisfying the gross income requirements for a REIT described above only if all of the following conditions are met:

 

 

We generally do not intend, and as a general partner of our operating partnership, do not intend to permit our operating partnership, to take actions we believe will cause us to fail to satisfy the rental conditions described above. However, we may intentionally fail to satisfy some of these conditions to the extent we conclude, based on the advice of our tax counsel, the failure will not jeopardize our tax status as a REIT. In addition, with respect to the limitation on the rental of personal property, we have not obtained appraisals of the real property and personal property leased to tenants. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with our determinations of value.

 

Income we receive that is attributable to the rental of parking spaces at the properties will constitute rents from real property for purposes of the REIT gross income tests if certain services provided with respect to the parking facilities are performed by independent contractors from whom we derive no income, either directly or indirectly, or by a taxable REIT subsidiary, and certain other conditions are met. We believe that the income we receive that is attributable to parking facilities meets these tests and, accordingly, will constitute rents from real property for purposes of the REIT gross income tests.

 

From time to time, we enter into hedging transactions with respect to one or more of our assets or liabilities. Our hedging activities may include entering into interest rate swaps, caps, and floors, options to purchase these items, and futures and forward contracts. Any income we derive from a hedging transaction will be nonqualifying for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Except to the extent provided by Treasury regulations, however, income from a hedging transaction entered into prior to January 1, 2005, including gain from the sale or disposition of such a transaction, will be qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test, but only to the extent that the transaction hedges indebtedness incurred or to be incurred by us to acquire or carry real estate assets. Income from such a hedging transaction entered into on or after January 1, 2005 that is clearly identified as such as specified in the Code will not constitute gross income for purposes of the 95% gross income test, and therefore will be exempt from this test. The term “hedging transaction,” as used above, generally means any transaction we enter into in the normal course of our business primarily to manage risk of interest rate changes or fluctuations with respect to borrowings made or to be made by us. To the extent that we do not properly identify such transactions as hedges or hedge with other types of financial instruments, the income from those transactions is not likely to be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the gross income tests. We intend to structure our hedging transactions in a manner that does not jeopardize our status as a REIT.

 

To the extent our taxable REIT subsidiary pays dividends, we generally will derive our allocable share of such dividend income through our interest in our operating partnership. Such dividend income will qualify under the 95%, but not the 75%, REIT gross income test. We will monitor the amount of the dividend and other income from our taxable REIT subsidiary and we will take actions intended to keep this income, and any other nonqualifying income, within the limitations of the REIT income tests. While we expect these actions will prevent a violation of the REIT income tests, we cannot guarantee that such actions will in all cases prevent such a violation.

 

If we fail to satisfy one or both of the 75% or 95% gross income tests for any taxable year, we may nevertheless qualify as a REIT for the year if we are entitled to relief under certain provisions of the Code. Commencing with our taxable year beginning January 1, 2005, we generally may make use of the relief provisions if:

 

 

It is not possible, however, to state whether in all circumstances we would be entitled to the benefit of these relief provisions. For example, if we fail to satisfy the gross income tests because nonqualifying income that we intentionally accrue or receive exceeds the limits on nonqualifying income, the IRS could conclude that our failure to satisfy the tests was not due to reasonable cause. If these relief provisions do not apply to a particular set of circumstances, we will not qualify as a REIT. As discussed above in “— Taxation of Our Company — General,” even if these relief provisions apply, and we retain our status as a REIT, a tax would be imposed with respect to our nonqualifying income. We may not always be able to comply with the gross income tests for REIT qualification despite our periodic monitoring of our income.

 

Prohibited Transaction Income.  Any gain that we realize on the sale of property held as inventory or otherwise held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, including our share of any such gain realized by our operating partnership, either directly or through its subsidiary partnerships and limited liability companies, will be treated as income from a prohibited transaction that is subject to a 100% penalty tax. This prohibited transaction income may also adversely affect our ability to satisfy the income tests for qualification as a REIT. Under existing law, whether property is held as inventory or primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business is a question of fact that depends on all the facts and circumstances surrounding the particular transaction. Our operating partnership intends to hold its properties for investment with a view to long-term appreciation, to engage in the business of acquiring, developing and owning its properties and to make occasional sales of the properties as are consistent with our operating partnership’s investment objectives. We do not intend to enter into any sales that are prohibited transactions. However, the IRS may successfully contend that some or all of the sales made by our operating partnership or its subsidiary partnerships or limited liability companies are prohibited transactions. We would be required to pay the 100% penalty tax on our allocable share of the gains resulting from any such sales.

 

Penalty Tax.  Any redetermined rents, redetermined deductions or excess interest we generate will be subject to a 100% penalty tax. In general, redetermined rents are rents from real property that are overstated as a result of services furnished by our taxable REIT subsidiary to any of our tenants, and redetermined deductions and excess interest represent amounts that are deducted by a taxable REIT subsidiary for amounts paid to us that are in excess of the amounts that would have been deducted based on arm’s-length negotiations. Rents we receive will not constitute redetermined rents if they qualify for the safe harbor provisions contained in the Code.

 

From time to time, our taxable REIT subsidiary may provide services to our tenants. We intend to set the fees paid to our taxable REIT subsidiary for such services at arm’s length rates, although the fees paid may not satisfy the safe harbor provisions described above. These determinations are inherently factual, and the IRS has broad discretion to assert that amounts paid between related parties should be reallocated to clearly reflect their respective incomes. If the IRS successfully made such an assertion, we would be required to pay a 100% penalty tax on the excess of an arm’s length fee for tenant services over the amount actually paid.

 

Asset Tests.  At the close of each calendar quarter of our taxable year, we must also satisfy four tests relating to the nature and diversification of our assets. First, at least 75% of the value of our total assets must be represented by real estate assets, cash, cash items and government securities. For purposes of this test, the term “real estate assets” generally means real property (including interests in real property and interests in mortgages on real property) and shares (or transferable certificates of beneficial interest) in other REITs, as well as any stock or debt instrument attributable to the investment of the proceeds of a stock offering or a public offering of debt with a term of at least five years, but only for the one-year period beginning on the date we receive such proceeds.

 

Second, not more than 25% of the value of our total assets may be represented by securities, other than those securities includable in the 75% asset test.

 

Third, of the investments included in the 25% asset class, and except for investments in other REITs, our qualified REIT subsidiaries and our taxable REIT subsidiaries, the value of any one issuer’s securities may not exceed 5% of the value of our total assets, and we may not own more than 10% of the total vote or value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. Solely for purposes of the 10% value test, however, certain securities including, but not limited to “straight debt” securities having specified characteristics, loans to an individual or an estate, obligations to pay rents from real property and any securities issued by a REIT, are disregarded as securities. In addition, commencing with our taxable year beginning January 1, 2005, solely for purposes of the 10% value test,

the determination of our interest in the assets of a partnership or limited liability company in which we own an interest will be based on our proportionate interest in any securities issued by the partnership or limited liability company, excluding for this purpose certain securities described in the Code.

 

Fourth, not more than 20% of the value of our total assets may be represented by the securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries.

 

To the extent that we own an interest in an issuer that does not qualify as a REIT, a qualified REIT subsidiary, or a taxable REIT subsidiary, we believe that the value of the securities of any such issuer has not exceeded 5% of the total value of our assets. Moreover, with respect to each issuer in which we own an interest that does not qualify as a qualified REIT subsidiary or a taxable REIT subsidiary, we believe that our ownership of the securities of any such issuer has complied with the 10% voting securities limitation and the 10% value limitation. We believe that the value of our taxable REIT subsidiary does not exceed, and believe that in the future it will not exceed, 20% of the aggregate value of our gross assets. No independent appraisals have been obtained to support these conclusions. In addition, there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with our determinations of value.

 

The asset tests described above must be satisfied at the close of each quarter of our taxable year in which we (directly or through our operating partnership) acquire securities in the applicable issuer, increase our ownership of securities of such issuer (including as a result of increasing our interest in our operating partnership or other partnerships and limited liability companies which own such securities), or acquire other assets. For example, our indirect ownership of securities of each issuer will increase as a result of our capital contributions to our operating partnership or as limited partners exercise their redemption/exchange rights. After initially meeting the asset tests at the close of any quarter, we will not lose our status as a REIT for failure to satisfy the asset tests at the end of a later quarter solely by reason of changes in asset values. If we fail to satisfy an asset test because we acquire securities or other property during a quarter, including as a result of an increase in our interest in our operating partnership, we may cure this failure by disposing of sufficient nonqualifying assets within 30 days after the close of that quarter. We believe that we have maintained and intend to maintain adequate records of the value of our assets to ensure compliance with the asset tests. If we fail to cure any noncompliance with the asset tests within the 30 day cure period, we would cease to qualify as a REIT unless we are eligible for certain relief provisions discussed below.

 

Certain relief provisions may be available to us if we discover a failure to satisfy the asset tests described above after the 30 day cure period. Under these provisions, we will be deemed to have met the 5% and 10% asset tests if the value of our nonqualifying assets (1) does not exceed the lesser of (a) 1% of the total value of our assets at the end of the applicable quarter or (b) $10,000,000, and (2) we dispose of the nonqualifying assets or otherwise satisfy such tests within (a) six months after the last day of the quarter in which the failure to satisfy the asset tests is discovered or (b) the period of time prescribed by Treasury regulations to be issued. For violations of any of the asset tests due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect and that are, in the case of the 5% and 10% asset tests, in excess of the de minimis exception described above, we may avoid disqualification as a REIT after the 30 day cure period by taking steps including (1) the disposition of sufficient nonqualifying assets, or the taking of other actions, which allow us to meet the asset tests within (a) six months after the last day of the quarter in which the failure to satisfy the asset tests is discovered or (b) the period of time prescribed by Treasury regulations to be issued, (2) paying a tax equal to the greater of (a) $50,000 or (b) the highest corporate tax rate multiplied by the net income generated by the nonqualifying assets, and (3) disclosing certain information to the IRS.

 

Although we believe that we have satisfied the asset tests described above and plan to take steps to ensure that we satisfy such tests for any calendar quarter with respect to which retesting is to occur, there can be no assurance that we will always be successful, or a reduction in our operating partnership’s overall interest in an issuer will not be required. If we fail to timely cure any noncompliance with the asset tests in a timely manner, and the relief provisions described above are not available, we would cease to qualify as a REIT. See “—  Failure to Qualify” below.

 

Annual Distribution Requirements.  To maintain our qualification as a REIT, we are required to distribute dividends, other than capital gain dividends, to our stockholders in an amount at least equal to the sum of:

 

 

For these purposes, our “REIT taxable income” is computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and our net capital gain. In addition, for purposes of this test, non-cash income means income attributable to leveled stepped rents, original issue discount on purchase money debt, cancellation of indebtedness or a like-kind exchange that is later determined to be taxable.

 

In addition, if we dispose of any asset we acquired from a corporation which is or has been a C corporation in a transaction in which our basis in the asset is determined by reference to the basis of the asset in the hands of that C corporation, within the ten-year period following our acquisition of such asset, we would be required to distribute at least 90% of the after-tax gain, if any, we recognize on the disposition of the asset, to the extent that gain does not exceed the excess of (a) the fair market value of the asset, over (b) our adjusted basis in the asset, in each case, on the date we acquired the asset.

 

We generally must pay, or be treated as paying, the distributions described above in the taxable year to which they relate. At our election, a distribution will be treated as paid in a taxable year if it is declared before we timely file our tax return for such year and paid on or before the first regular dividend payment after such declaration, provided such payment is made during the twelve-month period following the close of such year. These distributions are taxable to our stockholders, other than tax-exempt entities, in the year in which paid. This is so even though these distributions relate to the prior year for purposes of the 90% distribution requirement. The amount distributed must not be preferential — i.e., every stockholder of the class of stock to which a distribution is made must be treated the same as every other stockholder of that class, and no class of stock may be treated other than according to its dividend rights as a class. To the extent that we do not distribute all of our net capital gain, or distribute at least 90%, but less than 100%, of our “REIT taxable income,” as adjusted, we will be required to pay tax on the undistributed amount at regular corporate tax rates. We believe we have made, and intend to continue to make timely distributions sufficient to satisfy these annual distribution requirements and to minimize our corporate tax obligations. In this regard, the partnership agreement of our operating partnership authorizes us, as general partner, to take such steps as may be necessary to cause our operating partnership to distribute to its partners an amount sufficient to permit us to meet these distribution requirements.

 

We expect that our REIT taxable income will be less than our cash flow because of depreciation and other non-cash charges included in computing REIT taxable income. Accordingly, we anticipate that we will generally have sufficient cash or liquid assets to enable us to satisfy the distribution requirements described above. However, from time to time, we may not have sufficient cash or other liquid assets to meet these distribution requirements due to timing differences between the actual receipt of income and actual payment of deductible expenses, and the inclusion of income and deduction of expenses in determining our taxable income. If these timing differences occur, we may be required to borrow funds or pay dividends in the form of taxable stock dividends in order to meet the distribution requirements.

 

Under some circumstances, we may be able to rectify an inadvertent failure to meet the 90% distribution requirements for a year by paying “deficiency dividends” to our stockholders in a later year, which may be included in our deduction for dividends paid for the earlier year. Thus, we may be able to avoid being taxed on amounts distributed as deficiency dividends. However, we will be required to pay interest to the IRS based upon the amount of any deduction claimed for deficiency dividends.

 

Furthermore, we will be required to pay a 4% excise tax to the extent we fail to distribute during each calendar year, or in the case of distributions with declaration and record dates falling in the last three months of the calendar year, by the end of January immediately following such year, at least the sum of 85% of our REIT ordinary income for such year, 95% of our REIT capital gain income for the year and any undistributed taxable income from prior periods. Any REIT taxable income and net capital gain on which this excise tax is imposed for any year is treated as an amount distributed during that year for purposes of calculating such tax.

 

For purposes of the distribution requirements and excise tax described above, distributions declared during the last three months of the taxable year, payable to stockholders of record on a specified date during such period and paid during January of the following year, will be treated as paid by us and received by our stockholders on December 31 of the year in which they are declared.

Like-Kind Exchanges.  We may dispose of properties in transactions intended to qualify as like-kind exchanges under the Code. Such like-kind exchanges are intended to result in the deferral of gain for federal income tax purposes. The failure of any such transaction to qualify as a like-kind exchange could subject us to federal income tax, possibly including the 100% prohibited transaction tax, depending on the facts and circumstances surrounding the particular transaction.

 

Failure to Qualify

 

Commencing with our taxable year beginning January 1, 2005, specified cure provisions are available to us in the event that we discover a violation of a provision of the Code that would result in our failure to qualify as a REIT. Except with respect to violations of the REIT income tests and asset tests (for which the cure provisions are described above), and provided the violation is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect, these cure provisions generally impose a $50,000 penalty for each violation in lieu of a loss of REIT status.

 

If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT in any taxable year, and the relief provisions do not apply, we will be required to pay tax, including any applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at regular corporate rates. Distributions to stockholders in any year in which we fail to qualify as a REIT will not be deductible by us, and we will not be required to distribute any amounts to our stockholders. As a result, we anticipate that our failure to qualify as a REIT would reduce the cash available for distribution by us to our stockholders. In addition, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, all distributions to stockholders will be taxable as regular corporate dividends to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits. In this event, corporate distributees may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction. Unless entitled to relief under specific statutory provisions, we will also be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which we lost our qualification. It is not possible to state whether in all circumstances we would be entitled to this statutory relief.

 

Tax Aspects of Our Operating Partnership, the Subsidiary Partnerships and the Limited Liability Companies

 

General.  All of our investments are held indirectly through our operating partnership. In addition, our operating partnership holds certain of its investments indirectly through subsidiary partnerships and limited liability companies which we expect will be treated as partnerships (or disregarded entities) for federal income tax purposes. In general, entities that are classified as partnerships (or disregarded entities) for federal income tax purposes are “pass-through” entities which are not required to pay federal income tax. Rather, partners or members of such entities are allocated their shares of the items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit of the entity, and are potentially required to pay tax thereon, without regard to whether the partners or members receive a distribution of cash from the entity. We include in our income our pro rata share of the foregoing items for purposes of the various REIT income tests and in the computation of our REIT taxable income. Moreover, for purposes of the REIT asset tests and subject to special rules relating to the 10% asset test described above, we will include our pro rata share of the assets held by our operating partnership, including its share of its subsidiary partnerships and limited liability companies, based on our capital interest. See “—  Taxation of Our Company.”

 

Entity Classification.  Our interests in our operating partnership and the subsidiary partnerships and limited liability companies involve special tax considerations, including the possibility that the IRS might challenge the status of one or more of these entities as a partnership (or disregarded entity), as opposed to an association taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes. If our operating partnership, or a subsidiary partnership or limited liability company, were treated as an association, it would be taxable as a corporation and would be required to pay an entity-level tax on its income. In this situation, the character of our assets and items of gross income would change and could prevent us from satisfying the REIT asset tests and possibly the REIT income tests. See “—  Taxation of Our Company — Asset Tests” and “—  Income Tests.” This, in turn, could prevent us from qualifying as a REIT. See “—  Failure to Qualify” for a discussion of the effect of our failure to meet these tests for a taxable year. In addition, a change in the tax status of our operating partnership’s or a subsidiary partnership’s or limited liability company’s status might be treated as a taxable event. In that case, we might incur a tax liability without any related cash distributions. We believe our operating partnership and each of our other partnerships and limited liability companies will be classified as a partnership or a disregarded entity for federal income tax purposes.

Allocations of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction.  The operating partnership agreement generally provides that items of operating income and loss will be allocated to the holders of units in proportion to the number of units held by each such unit holder. Certain limited partners have agreed to guarantee debt of our operating partnership, either directly or indirectly through an agreement to make capital contributions to our operating partnership under limited circumstances. As a result of these guarantees or contribution agreements, and notwithstanding the foregoing discussion of allocations of income and loss of our operating partnership to holders of units, such limited partners could under limited circumstances be allocated a disproportionate amount of net loss upon a liquidation of our operating partnership, which net loss would have otherwise been allocable to us.

 

If an allocation of partnership income or loss does not comply with the requirements of Section 704(b) of the Code and the Treasury regulations thereunder, the item subject to the allocation will be reallocated in accordance with the partners’ interests in the partnership. This reallocation will be determined by taking into account all of the facts and circumstances relating to the economic arrangement of the partners with respect to such item. Our operating partnership’s allocations of taxable income and loss are intended to comply with the requirements of Section 704(b) of the Code and the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

Tax Allocations With Respect to the Properties.  Under Section 704(c) of the Code, income, gain, loss and deduction attributable to appreciated or depreciated property that is contributed to a partnership in exchange for an interest in the partnership, must be allocated in a manner so that the contributing partner is charged with the unrealized gain or benefits from the unrealized loss associated with the property at the time of the contribution. The amount of the unrealized gain or unrealized loss generally is equal to the difference between the fair market value or book value and the adjusted tax basis of the contributed property at the time of contribution, as adjusted from time to time. These allocations are solely for federal income tax purposes and do not affect the book capital accounts or other economic or legal arrangements among the partners. Appreciated property was contributed to our operating partnership in exchange for interests in our operating partnership in connection with the formation transactions. The partnership agreement requires that these allocations be made in a manner consistent with Section 704(c) of the Code. Treasury regulations issued under Section 704(c) of the Code provide partnerships with a choice of several methods of accounting for book-tax differences. We and our operating partnership have agreed to use the “traditional method” for accounting for book-tax differences for the properties initially contributed to our operating partnership. Under the traditional method, which is the least favorable method from our perspective, the carryover basis of contributed interests in the properties in the hands of our operating partnership (1) will or could cause us to be allocated lower amounts of depreciation deductions for tax purposes than would be allocated to us if all contributed properties were to have a tax basis equal to their fair market value at the time of the contribution and (2) could cause us to be allocated taxable gain in the event of a sale of such contributed interests or properties in excess of the economic or book income allocated to us as a result of such sale, with a corresponding benefit to the other partners in our operating partnership. An allocation described in (2) above might cause us or the other partners to recognize taxable income in excess of cash proceeds in the event of a sale or other disposition of property, which might adversely affect our ability to comply with the REIT distribution requirements. See “— Taxation of Our Company — Requirements for Qualification as a Real Estate Investment Trust” and “— Annual Distribution Requirements.” To the extent our depreciation is reduced, or our gain on sale is increased, stockholders may recognize additional dividend income without an increase in distributions.

 

Any property acquired by our operating partnership in a taxable transaction will initially have a tax basis equal to its fair market value, and Section 704(c) of the Code will not apply.

 

Taxation of Holders of Our Stock

 

The following summary describes certain of the United States federal income tax consequences of owning and disposing of our stock.

 

Taxable U.S. Stockholders Generally

 

If you are a “U.S. Stockholder,” as defined below, this section applies to you. Otherwise, the section, entitled “non-U.S. Stockholders,” applies to you.

Definition of U.S. Stockholder.  A “U.S. Stockholder” is a beneficial holder of capital stock or debt securities who is:

 

 

Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, to the extent provided in the Treasury Regulations, certain trusts in existence on August 20, 1996, and treated as United States persons prior to this date that elect to continue to be treated as United States persons, shall also be considered U.S. Stockholders.

 

Distributions Generally.  Distributions out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as dividends and, other than with respect to capital gain dividends and certain amounts that have previously been subject to corporate level tax, discussed below, will be taxable to our taxable U.S. stockholders as ordinary income. See “— Tax Rates” below. As long as we qualify as a REIT, these distributions will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction in the case of U.S. stockholders that are corporations. For purposes of determining whether distributions to holders of our common stock are out of current or accumulated earnings and profits, our earnings and profits will be allocated first to our outstanding preferred stock, if and when issued, and then to our outstanding common stock.

 

To the extent that we make distributions on our common stock in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, these distributions will be treated first as a tax-free return of capital to a U.S. stockholder. This treatment will reduce the U.S. stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our common stock by the amount of the distribution, but not below zero. Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits and in excess of a U.S. stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares will be taxable as capital gains. Such gain will be taxable as long-term capital gain if the shares have been held for more than one year. Dividends we declare in October, November, or December of any year and which are payable to a stockholder of record on a specified date in any of these months will be treated as both paid by us and received by the stockholder on December 31 of that year, provided we actually pay the dividend on or before January 31 of the following year. U.S. stockholders may not include in their own income tax returns any of our net operating losses or capital losses.

 

Capital Gain Dividends.  Dividends that we properly designate as capital gain dividends will be taxable to our taxable U.S. stockholders as a gain from the sale or disposition of a capital asset, to the extent that such gain does not exceed our actual net capital gain for the taxable year. These gains may be taxable to non-corporate U.S. stockholders at a 15% or 25% rate. U.S. stockholders that are corporations may, however, be required to treat up to 20% of some capital gain dividends as ordinary income. If we properly designate any portion of a dividend as a capital gain dividend then, except as otherwise required by law, we presently intend to allocate a portion of the total capital gain dividends paid or made available to holders of all classes of our stock for the year to the holders of our common stock in proportion to the amount that our total dividends, as determined for United States federal income tax purposes, paid or made available to the holders of such common stock for the year bears to the total dividends, as determined for United States federal income tax purposes, paid or made available to holders of all classes of our stock for the year.

 

Retention of Net Capital Gains.  We may elect to retain, rather than distribute as a capital gain dividend, all or a portion of our net capital gains. If we make this election, we would pay tax on our retained net capital gains. In addition, to the extent we so elect, a U.S. stockholder generally would:

 

 

 

Passive Activity Losses and Investment Interest Limitations.  Distributions we make and gain arising from the sale or exchange by a U.S. stockholder of our shares will not be treated as passive activity income. As a result, U.S. stockholders generally will not be able to apply any “passive losses” against this income or gain. A U.S. stockholder may elect to treat capital gain dividends, capital gains from the disposition of stock and qualified dividend income as investment income for purposes of computing the investment interest limitation, but in such case, the stockholder will be taxed at ordinary income rates on such amount. Other distributions made by us, to the extent they do not constitute a return of capital, generally will be treated as investment income for purposes of computing the investment interest limitation.

 

Dispositions of Our Common Stock.  If a U.S. stockholder sells or disposes of shares of our common stock to a person other than us, it will recognize gain or loss for federal income tax purposes in an amount equal to the difference between the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received on the sale or other disposition and the holder’s adjusted basis in the shares for tax purposes. This gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if the holder has held the common stock for more than one year. If, however, a U.S. stockholder recognizes loss upon the sale or other disposition of our common stock that it has held for six months or less, after applying certain holding period rules, the loss recognized will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent the U.S. stockholder received distributions from us which were required to be treated as long-term capital gains.

 

Backup Withholding

 

We report to our U.S. stockholders and the IRS the amount of dividends paid during each calendar year, and the amount of any tax withheld. Under the backup withholding rules, a stockholder may be subject to backup withholding with respect to dividends paid unless the holder is a corporation or comes within certain other exempt categories and, when required, demonstrates this fact, or provides a taxpayer identification number, certifies as to no loss of exemption from backup withholding, and otherwise complies with applicable requirements of the backup withholding rules. A U.S. stockholder that does not provide us with its correct taxpayer identification number may also be subject to penalties imposed by the IRS. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amount paid as backup withholding will be creditable against the stockholder’s federal income tax liability. In addition, we may be required to withhold a portion of capital gain distributions to any stockholders who fail to certify their non-foreign status. See “— Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders.”

 

Tax Rates

 

The maximum tax rate for non-corporate taxpayers for (1) capital gains, including certain “capital gain dividends,” has generally been reduced to 15% (although depending on the characteristics of the assets which produced these gains and on designations which we may make, certain capital gain dividends may be taxed at a 25% rate) and (2) “qualified dividend income” has generally been reduced to 15%. In general, dividends payable by REITs are not eligible for the reduced tax rate on corporate dividends, except to the extent that certain holding requirements have been met and the REIT’s dividends are attributable to dividends received from taxable corporations (such as its taxable REIT subsidiaries) or to income that was subject to tax at the corporate/REIT level (for example, if it distributed taxable income that it retained and paid tax on in the prior taxable year). The currently applicable provisions of the United States federal income tax laws relating to the 15% tax rate are currently scheduled to “sunset” or revert to the provisions of prior law effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010, at which time the capital gains tax rate will be increased to 20% and the rate applicable to dividends will be increased to the tax rate then applicable to ordinary income.

Taxation of Tax-Exempt Stockholders

 

Dividend income from us and gain arising upon a sale of our common stock generally will not be unrelated business taxable income to a tax-exempt stockholder, except as described below. This income or gain will be unrelated business taxable income, however, if a tax-exempt stockholder holds its shares as “debt-financed property” within the meaning of the Code or if the shares are used in a trade or business of the tax-exempt stockholder. Generally, “debt-financed property” is property, the acquisition or holding of which was financed through a borrowing by the tax-exempt stockholder.

 

For tax-exempt stockholders which are social clubs, voluntary employee benefit associations, supplemental unemployment benefit trusts, or qualified group legal services plans exempt from federal income taxation under Sections 501(c)(7), (c)(9), (c)(17) or (c)(20) of the Code, respectively, income from an investment in our shares will constitute unrelated business taxable income unless the organization is able to properly claim a deduction for amounts set aside or placed in reserve for specific purposes so as to offset the income generated by its investment in our shares. These prospective investors should consult their tax advisors concerning these “set aside” and reserve requirements.

 

Notwithstanding the above, however, a portion of the dividends paid by a “pension-held REIT” may be treated as unrelated business taxable income as to certain trusts that hold more than 10%, by value, of the interests in the REIT. A REIT will not be a “pension-held REIT” if it is able to satisfy the “not closely held” requirement without relying on the “look-through” exception with respect to certain trusts or if such REIT is not “predominantly held” by “qualified trusts.” As a result of limitations on the transfer and ownership of stock contained in our charter, we do not expect to be classified as a “pension-held REIT,” and as a result, the tax treatment described in this paragraph should be inapplicable to our stockholders. However, because our stock will be publicly traded, we cannot guarantee that this will always be the case.

 

Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders

 

The following discussion addresses the rules governing United States federal income taxation of the ownership and disposition of our common stock by non-U.S. stockholders. These rules are complex, and no attempt is made herein to provide more than a brief summary of such rules. Accordingly, the discussion does not address all aspects of United States federal income taxation that may be relevant to a non-U.S. stockholder in light of its particular circumstances and does not address any state, local or foreign tax consequences. We urge non-U.S. stockholders to consult their tax advisors to determine the impact of federal, state, local and foreign income tax laws on the purchase, ownership, and disposition of shares of our common stock, including any reporting requirements.

 

Distributions Generally.  Distributions that are neither attributable to gain from our sale or exchange of United States real property interests nor designated by us as capital gain dividends will be treated as dividends of ordinary income to the extent that they are made out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits. Such distributions ordinarily will be subject to withholding of United States federal income tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty unless the distributions are treated as effectively connected with the conduct by the non-U.S. stockholder of a United States trade or business. Under certain treaties, however, lower withholding rates generally applicable to dividends do not apply to dividends from a REIT. Certain certification and disclosure requirements must be satisfied to be exempt from withholding under the effectively connected income exemption. Dividends that are treated as effectively connected with such a trade or business will be subject to tax on a net basis at graduated rates, in the same manner as dividends paid to U.S. stockholders are subject to tax, and are generally not subject to withholding. Any such dividends received by a non-U.S. stockholder that is a corporation may also be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty.

 

We expect to withhold United States income tax at the rate of 30% on any distributions made to a non-U.S. stockholder unless:

 

 

 

Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits will not be taxable to a non-U.S. stockholder to the extent that such distributions do not exceed the non-U.S. stockholder’s adjusted basis in our common stock, but rather will reduce the adjusted basis of such common stock. To the extent that these distributions exceed a non-U.S. stockholder’s adjusted basis in our common stock, they will give rise to gain from the sale or exchange of such stock. The tax treatment of this gain is described below.

 

For withholding purposes, we expect to treat all distributions as made out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits. However, amounts withheld should generally be refundable if it is subsequently determined that the distribution was, in fact, in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits.

 

Capital Gain Dividends and Distributions Attributable to a Sale or Exchange of United States Real Property Interests.  Distributions to a non-U.S. stockholder that we properly designate as capital gain dividends, other than those arising from the disposition of a United States real property interest, generally should not be subject to United States federal income taxation, unless:

 

(1) the investment in our common stock is treated as effectively connected with the non-U.S. stockholder’s United States trade or business, in which case the non-U.S. stockholder will be subject to the same treatment as U.S. stockholders with respect to such gain, except that a non-U.S. stockholder that is a foreign corporation may also be subject to the 30% branch profits tax, as discussed above; or

 

(2) the non-U.S. stockholder is a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year and certain other conditions are met, in which case the nonresident alien individual will be subject to a 30% tax on the individual’s capital gains.

 

Pursuant to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, which is referred to as “FIRPTA,” distributions to a non-U.S. stockholder that are attributable to gain from our sale or exchange of United States real property interests (whether or not designated as capital gain dividends) will cause the non-U.S. stockholder to be treated as recognizing such gain as income effectively connected with a United States trade or business. Non-U.S. stockholders would generally be taxed at the same rates applicable to U.S. stockholders, subject to a special alternative minimum tax in the case of nonresident alien individuals. We also will be required to withhold and to remit to the IRS 35% of any distribution to non-U.S. stockholders that is designated as a capital gain dividend, or, if greater, 35% of a distribution to the non-U.S. stockholders that could have been designated as a capital gain dividend. The amount withheld is creditable against the non-U.S. stockholder’s United States federal income tax liability. However, any distribution with respect to any class of stock which is regularly traded on an established securities market located in the United States is not subject to FIRPTA, and therefore, not subject to the 35% U.S. withholding tax described above, if the non-United States stockholder did not own more than 5% of such class of stock at any time during the one-year period ending on the date of the distribution. Instead, such distributions will be treated as ordinary dividend distributions.

 

Retention of Net Capital Gains.  Although the law is not clear on the matter, it appears that amounts designated by us as retained capital gains in respect of the common stock held by U.S. stockholders generally should be treated with respect to non-U.S. stockholders in the same manner as actual distributions by us of capital gain dividends. Under this approach, a non-U.S. stockholder would be able to offset as a credit against its United States federal income tax liability resulting from their proportionate share of the tax paid by us on such retained capital gains, and to receive from the IRS a refund to the extent their proportionate share of such tax paid by us exceeds their actual United States federal income tax liability.

 

Sale of Our Common Stock.  Gain recognized by a non-U.S. stockholder upon the sale or exchange of our common stock generally will not be subject to United States taxation unless such stock constitutes a “United States real property interest” within the meaning of FIRPTA. Our common stock will not constitute a “United States real property interest” so long as we are a “domestically-controlled qualified investment entity.” A domestically-controlled qualified investment entity includes a REIT in which at all times during a specified testing period less than 50% in value of its stock is held directly or indirectly by non-U.S. stockholders. We believe, but cannot guarantee, that we have been a domestically-controlled qualified investment entity. Even if we have been a

domestically-controlled qualified investment entity, because our capital stock is publicly traded, no assurance can be given that we will continue to be a domestically-controlled qualified investment entity.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, gain from the sale or exchange of our common stock not otherwise subject to FIRPTA will be taxable to a non-U.S. stockholder if either (1) the investment in our common stock is treated as effectively connected with the non-U.S. stockholder’s United States trade or business or (2) the non-U.S. stockholder is a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year and certain other conditions are met. In addition, even if we qualify as a domestically controlled qualified investment entity, upon disposition of our common stock (subject to the 5% exception applicable to “regularly traded” stock described below), a non-U.S. stockholder may be treated as having gain from the sale or exchange of United States real property interest if the non-U.S. stockholder (1) disposes of our common stock within a 30-day period preceding the ex-dividend date of a distribution, any portion of which, but for the disposition, would have been treated as gain from the sale or exchange of a United States real property interest and (2) acquires, or enters into a contract or option to acquire, other shares of our common stock within 30 days after such ex-dividend date.

 

Even if we do not qualify as a domestically-controlled qualified investment entity at the time a non-U.S. stockholder sells or exchanges our common stock, gain arising from such a sale or exchange would not be subject to United States taxation under FIRPTA as a sale of a United States real property interest if:

 

(1) our common stock is “regularly traded,” as defined by applicable Treasury regulations, on an established securities market such as the NYSE; and

 

(2) such non-U.S. stockholder owned, actually and constructively, 5% or less of our common stock throughout the five-year period ending on the date of the sale or exchange.

 

If gain on the sale or exchange of our common stock were subject to taxation under FIRPTA, the non-U.S. stockholder would be subject to regular United States federal income tax with respect to such gain in the same manner as a taxable U.S. stockholder (subject to any applicable alternative minimum tax and a special alternative minimum tax in the case of nonresident alien individuals) and the purchaser of the common stock would be required to withhold and remit to the IRS 10% of the purchase price.

 

Backup Withholding Tax and Information Reporting.  Generally, we must report annually to the IRS the amount of dividends paid to a non-U.S. stockholder, such holder’s name and address, and the amount of tax withheld, if any. A similar report is sent to the non-U.S. stockholder. Pursuant to tax treaties or other agreements, the IRS may make its reports available to tax authorities in the non-U.S. stockholder’s country of residence.

 

Payments of dividends or of proceeds from the disposition of stock made to a non-U.S. stockholder may be subject to information reporting and backup withholding unless such holder establishes an exemption, for example, by properly certifying its non-United States status on an IRS Form W-8BEN or another appropriate version of IRS Form W-8. Notwithstanding the foregoing, backup withholding and information reporting may apply if either we or our paying agent has actual knowledge, or reason to know, that a non-U.S. stockholder is a United States person.

 

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the United States income tax liability of persons subject to backup withholding will be reduced by the amount of tax withheld. If withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund or credit may be obtained, provided that the required information is furnished to the IRS.

 

Other Tax Consequences

 

State, local and foreign income tax laws may differ substantially from the corresponding federal income tax laws, and this discussion does not purport to describe any aspect of the tax laws of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction. You should consult your tax advisor regarding the effect of state and local tax laws with respect to our tax treatment as a REIT and on an investment in our common stock.

 

The selling stockholders may, from time to time, sell any or all of the shares of our common stock beneficially owned by them and offered hereby directly or through one or more broker-dealers or agents. The selling

stockholders will be responsible for any agent’s commissions. The common stock may be sold in one or more transactions at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of the sale, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. The selling stockholders may use any one or more of the following methods when selling shares:

 

 

The selling stockholders may also sell shares under Rule 144 under the Securities Act rather than under this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.

 

In addition, the selling stockholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers who may engage in short sales of shares in the course of hedging the positions they assume with the selling stockholders. The selling stockholders may also sell shares short and deliver the shares to close out such short position. The selling stockholders may also enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers that require the delivery by such broker-dealers of the shares, which shares may be resold thereafter pursuant to this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.

 

Broker-dealers engaged by the selling stockholders may arrange for other broker-dealers to participate in sales. If the selling stockholders effect such transactions through underwriters, broker-dealers or agents, such underwriters, broker-dealers or agents may receive commissions in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the selling stockholders or commissions from purchasers of the shares of our common stock for whom they may act as agent or to whom they may sell as principal, or both (which discounts, concessions or commissions as to particular underwriters, broker-dealers or agents may be less than or in excess of those customary in the types of transactions involved).

 

The selling stockholders and any broker-dealers or agents that are involved in selling the shares may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. In such event, any commissions received by such broker-dealers or agents and any profit on the resale of the shares purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act.

 

The selling stockholders will be subject to the Exchange Act, including Regulation M, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of common stock by the selling stockholders and their affiliates.

There can be no assurance that the selling stockholders will sell any or all of the shares of common stock registered pursuant to the registration statement, of which this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement forms a part.

 

Certain legal matters will be passed upon for us by Latham & Watkins LLP, San Diego, California. Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland, has issued an opinion to us regarding certain matters of Maryland law.

 

The consolidated balance sheets of BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2005 and 2004, the related consolidated statements of income, stockholders’ equity, and comprehensive income of BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. and subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 2005 and the period from August 11, 2004 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2004, the related statements of income and owners’ equity of Inhale 201 Industrial Road, L.P. for the period from January 1, 2004 through August 17, 2004 and the year ended December 31, 2003, the related consolidated statement of cash flows of BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. and subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 2005, the related consolidated and combined statement of cash flows of BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. and subsidiaries and Inhale 201 Industrial Road, L.P. for the year ended December 31, 2004, the related statements of cash flows of Inhale 201 Industrial Road, L.P. for the year ended December 31, 2003, the related financial statement schedule III, management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005 and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005, of BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. and subsidiaries, all incorporated in this prospectus by reference, have been so incorporated in reliance upon the reports of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accountants, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

The combined statements of revenues and certain expenses of the Lyme Portfolio and Uniqema Properties, and the statements of revenues and certain expenses of Bridgeview II, Nancy Ridge, Graphics Drive and Phoenixville for the year ended December 31, 2004, all incorporated in this prospectus by reference, have been so incorporated in reliance upon the reports of KPMG LLP, an independent auditor, and upon the authority of said firm as an expert in accounting and auditing. KPMG LLP’s reports refer to the fact that the statements of revenues and expenses were prepared for the purpose of complying with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and are not intended to be a complete presentation of revenues and expenses.

 

PART II

 

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

 

The following table itemizes the expenses incurred by us in connection with the issuance and registration of the securities being registered hereunder. All amounts shown are estimates except the Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee.

 

 

 

 

We will pay all of the costs identified above.

 

 

Maryland law permits a Maryland corporation to include in its charter a provision limiting the liability of its directors and officers to the corporation and its stockholders for money damages except for liability resulting from (1) actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or (2) active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment as being material to the cause of action. Our charter contains a provision which eliminates directors’ and officers’ liability to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.

 

Our charter authorizes us, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, to obligate ourselves to indemnify and to pay or reimburse reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding to (1) any present or former director or officer or (2) any individual who, while a director or officer of our company and at our request, serves or has served another REIT, corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or any other enterprise as a trustee, director, officer or partner of such REIT, corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise from and against any claim or liability to which such individual may become subject or which such individual may incur by reason of his or her service in such capacity. Our bylaws obligate us, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, to indemnify and to pay or reimburse reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding to (1) any present or former director or officer who is made, or threatened to be made, a party to the proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity or (2) any individual who, while a director or officer of our company and at our request, serves or has served another REIT, corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise as a trustee, director, officer or partner and who is made, or threatened to be made, a party to the proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity, against any claim or liability to which he or she may become subject or may incur by reason of his or her status as a present or former director or officer of the company. Our charter and bylaws also permit us to indemnify and advance expenses to any individual who served a predecessor of our company in any of the capacities described above and to any employee or agent of our company or a predecessor of our company.

 

Maryland law requires a corporation (unless its charter provides otherwise, which our charter does not) to indemnify a director or officer who has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of his or her service in that capacity. Maryland law permits a corporation to indemnify its present and former directors and officers, among others, against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may be made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities unless it is established that (1) the act or omission of the director or officer was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and (a) was committed in bad faith or (b) was a result of active and deliberate dishonesty, (2) the director or officer actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services or (3) in the case of any criminal proceeding, the director or officer had reasonable cause to believe that the act or

omission was unlawful. However, a Maryland corporation may not indemnify for an adverse judgment in a suit by or in the right of the corporation or if the director or officer was adjudged to be liable on the basis of an improperly received personal benefit, unless in either case a court orders indemnification and then only for expenses. Maryland law permits a corporation to advance reasonable expenses to a director or officer upon the corporation’s receipt of (1) a written affirmation by the director or officer of his or her good faith belief that he or she has met the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification and (2) a written undertaking by him or her or on his or her behalf to repay the amount paid or reimbursed by us if it shall ultimately be determined that the standard of conduct was not met.

 

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our executive officers and directors whereby we agree to indemnify such executive officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by Maryland law against all expenses and liabilities, subject to limited exceptions. The indemnification agreements require us to indemnify the director or officer party thereto, the indemnitee, against all judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement and all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the indemnitee or on his or her behalf in connection with a proceeding other than one initiated by or on behalf of us. In addition, the indemnification agreements require us to indemnify the indemnitee against all amounts paid in settlement and all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the indemnitee or on his or her behalf in connection with a proceeding that is brought by or on behalf of us. In either case, the indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification if it is established that one of the exceptions to indemnification under Maryland law set forth above exists.

 

In addition, the indemnification agreements require us to advance reasonable expenses incurred by the indemnitee within ten days of the receipt by us of a statement from the indemnitee requesting the advance, provided the statement evidences the expenses and is accompanied by:

 

 

The indemnification agreements also provide for procedures for the determination of entitlement to indemnification, including requiring such determination be made by independent counsel after a change of control of us.

 

In addition, our directors and officers are indemnified for specified liabilities and expenses pursuant to the partnership agreement of BioMed Realty, L.P., the partnership in which we serve as sole general partner.

 

Insofar as the foregoing provisions permit indemnification of directors, officers or persons controlling us for liability arising under the Securities Act, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, this indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

 

The following exhibits are filed as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this registration statement on Form S-3:

 

 

 

 

 

(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;

 

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

 

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

 

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement;

 

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

 

(i) each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 

(ii) each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5) or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

 

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities:

 

The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

 

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

 

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

 

(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to existing provisions or arrangements whereby the registrant may indemnify a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant against liabilities arising under the Securities Act, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than for the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Diego, State of California, on this 5th day of January, 2007.

 

BIOMED REALTY TRUST, INC.

 

Alan D. Gold

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Alan D. Gold and Gary A. Kreitzer, and each of them, with full power to act without the other, such person’s true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement, and any and all pre-effective and post-effective amendments thereto as well as any related registration statements (or amendment thereto) filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same, with exhibits and schedules thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing necessary or desirable to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

EXHIBIT INDEX