DRA Advisors completes acquisition of Inland Real Estate

OAK BROOK - New York-based investment firm DRA Advisors has completed the acquisition of Inland Real Estate Corp for approximately $2.3 billion.

The company's name will be changed to IRC Retail Centers Inc. The merger, which was first announced in December 2015, includes the assumption of some debt.

As a result of the merger, common and the preferred stock will no longer listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange or any other exchange, and trading ceased at the close of the markets on March 30. IRC stockholders of record will receive a letter of transmittal and instructions on how to submit their certificates representing common stock in exchange for the merger consideration. Each stockholder should wait to receive such documents before attempting to transmit any certificates.

DRA investments include public and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations and financial institutions valued in excess of $26 billion.

"The purchase of IRC Retail Centers Inc. provides DRA the opportunity to extend our retail footprint in the Midwest and Southeast with well located, stable, grocery anchored and power shopping centers," said Matthew Shore, partner at DRA in charge of overseeing the transaction.

While its name has changed, IRC Retail Centers continues to focus on owning, operating, acquiring and developing open-air retail properties. The company currently has an ownership interest in more than 130 properties totaling approximately 15.4 million square feet of leasable space, located in well-established markets primarily in the Central and Southeastern United States.

"Our new name more accurately reflects our retail focus, while also bridging our past corporate identity to a dynamic, new brand that clearly conveys the strength of the Company," said Mark Zalatoris, president and chief executive officer of IRC Retail Centers. "The IRC initials have been closely associated with the Company during its more than 15 years of operations as a self-managed, experienced owner/operator of high-quality retail real estate."

IRC Retail Centers also introduced a new tagline: "Focused on Retail. Centered on Value." The new tagline reinforces the Company's emphasis on retail and its ability to offer tenants prime shopping center locations that feature an optimal merchandise mix of value and necessity-oriented retailers.