DDR Comments on Best Buy Store Closing Announcement

BEACHWOOD, Ohio, April 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DDR Corp. (NYSE: DDR) confirmed that one store location within its portfolio will close among the 42 announced Saturday, April 14, 2012 by Best Buy. The 30,000 square foot store is located at Fayette Pavilion, a 1.5 million square-foot prime power center located in Fayetteville, Georgia. The center is anchored by Walmart, Home Depot, Target, Kohl's, Publix, Dick's Sporting Goods, Belk, Ross Dress For Less, T.J.Maxx, Bed Bath & Beyond, PetSmart and more. There is no co-tenancy impact related to this closing and Best Buy remains responsible for all economic obligations of the lease until expiration in January 2013. In addition, DDR holds this asset in joint venture with a 15% share. 

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Importantly, due to the known underperformance of Best Buy at this location, DDR has been proactively negotiating with national tenants for many months and expects to re-lease this space on more favorable terms before the Best Buy lease expires. 

"Given our relationship and regular dialogue with Best Buy, this closure is not an unexpected event and we are well prepared to maximize the benefit of the opportunity. Most importantly, Best Buy's single closure in our portfolio speaks to the high-quality of DDR's prime assets and the productivity achieved by our tenants. We will continue to creatively and proactively work with Best Buy as they strategically evolve their operating strategy," said Paul Freddo, senior executive vice president of leasing and development for DDR.

Including the assets in the recently announced EDT Retail acquisition that is expected to close in June 2012, DDR has ownership interest in 29 Best Buy locations, of which 16 assets are in joint venture. The average remaining lease term on the 29 locations is 4.7 years and 28 of the 29 stores are located within prime assets.

About DDR
DDR is an owner and manager of 481 value-oriented shopping centers representing 123 million square feet in 39 states, Puerto Rico and Brazil. The company's assets are concentrated in high barrier-to-entry markets with stable populations and high growth potential and its portfolio is actively managed to create long-term shareholder value. DDR is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DDR. Additional information about the company is available at www.ddr.com.

Safe Harbor
DDR considers portions of the information in this press release to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, both as amended, with respect to the Company's expectation for future periods. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including, among other factors, local conditions such as oversupply of space or a reduction in demand for real estate in the area; competition from other available space; dependence on rental income from real property; the loss of, significant downsizing of or bankruptcy of a major tenant; constructing properties or expansions that produce a desired yield on investment; our ability to renew or enter into new leases at favorable rates; our ability to buy or sell assets on commercially reasonable terms; our ability to complete acquisitions or dispositions of assets under contract, including the properties in the EDT Retail Portfolio; our ability to secure equity or debt financing on commercially acceptable terms or at all; our ability to enter into definitive agreements with regard to our financing and joint venture arrangements or our failure to satisfy conditions to the completion of these arrangements and the success of our capital recycling strategy. For additional factors that could cause the results of the Company to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

SOURCE DDR Corp.