HOUSTON, May 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) (“Whitestone” or the “Company”) today announced that, based on the preliminary vote count at the Company’s 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”), subject to the final certification of the voting results by the inspector of election, all three of Whitestone’s trustee nominees have been re-elected to the Whitestone Board of Trustees (the “Board”): Nandita V. Berry, Jack L. Mahaffey and James C. Mastandrea.
In addition, based on the preliminary vote count and subject to the final certification of the voting results by the inspector of election, the Company today announced that, at the Annual Meeting, Whitestone shareholders did not approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, the Company’s executive compensation, approved the ratification of Pannell Kerr Forster of Texas, P.C. as the Company’s auditor and approved on a non-binding basis a resolution to de-classify the Board.
Whitestone issued the following statement:
“Whitestone’s Board and management team thank our shareholders for their support, input and participation throughout the proxy contest. The Whitestone Board and management team value the input and perspectives of all shareholders, and we are pleased that Whitestone shareholders have reaffirmed their support for the Board’s highly qualified and diverse trustees and our commitment to our long-term plan to deliver superior value. In addition, the Board has heard shareholders’ collective voice on all matters in connection with this meeting and intends to carefully consider the feedback received. As we look to the future, our foundation is solid, the right people are in place and our e-commerce resistant business model continues to succeed. We look forward to further engagement with our shareholders as we continue the successful implementation of our strategy, while seeking to achieve our long-term goals of reducing leverage and G&A.”
The Company will file a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) reporting the preliminary results based on the independent inspector of election’s preliminary tabulation. In addition, the Company will amend the Form 8-K to report the final voting outcome once it has received the final, certified report from the inspector.
About Whitestone REIT
Whitestone is a community-centered retail REIT that acquires, owns, manages, develops and redevelops high quality “e-commerce resistant” neighborhood, community and lifestyle retail centers principally located in the largest, fastest-growing and most affluent markets in the Sunbelt. Whitestone’s optimal mix of national, regional and local tenants provide daily necessities, needed services and entertainment to the communities in which they are located. Whitestone’s properties are primarily located in business-friendly Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, which are among the fastest growing U.S. population centers with highly educated workforces, high household incomes and strong job growth. Visit www.whitestonereit.com for additional information.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The Company intends for all such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe-harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, as applicable. Such information is subject to certain risks and uncertainties, as well as known and unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Therefore, such statements are not intended to be a guarantee of our performance in future periods. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the Company’s use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “goals” or similar words or phrases that are predictions of future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters.
The following are some of the factors that could cause the Company’s actual results and its expectations to differ materially from those described in the Company’s forward-looking statements: the Company’s ability to meet its long-term goals, its assumptions regarding its earnings guidance, including its ability to execute effectively its acquisition and disposition strategy, to continue to execute its development pipeline on schedule and at the expected costs, and its ability to grow its NOI as expected, which could be impacted by a number of factors, including, among other things, its ability to continue to renew leases or re-let space on attractive terms and to otherwise address its leasing rollover; its ability to successfully identify, finance and consummate suitable acquisitions, and the impact of such acquisitions, including financing developments, capitalization rates and internal rate of return; the Company’s ability to reduce or otherwise effectively manage its general and administrative expenses; the Company’s ability to fund from cash flows or otherwise distributions to its shareholders at current rates or at all; current adverse market and economic conditions; lease terminations or lease defaults; the impact of competition on the Company’s efforts to renew existing leases; changes in the economies and other conditions of the specific markets in which the Company operates; economic, legislative and regulatory changes, including the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017; the success of the Company’s real estate strategies and investment objectives; the Company’s ability to continue to qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; and other factors detailed in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents the Company files with the SEC from time to time.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company cannot guarantee the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements contained in this press release, and the Company does not intend to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Whitestone REIT Contacts:
Investors Contact:
Kevin Reed, Director of Investor Relations
Whitestone REIT
(713) 435-2219
ir@whitestonereit.com
Media Contact:
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Andrew Siegel / Amy Feng / Dan Moore
(212) 355-4449
Source: Whitestone REIT