David LaRue, president and CEO of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: FCE.A), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview at REITWorld 2016: NAREIT’s Annual Convention for All Things REIT at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge.
Forest City owns, operates and develops properties in the office, multifamily, and retail sectors.
LaRue discussed Forest City’s efforts to deleverage its balance sheet. “We’re making great progress on that,” he said. LaRue noted that following the financial crisis, the company’s net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) ratio was almost 14 times. “We’re now in the mid-eights, and the target is to be between seven and eight by 2017,” he said.
LaRue said Forest City will continue to invest in the balance sheet, “which we think is an additional way to create value for the company and its shareholders.”
LaRue also commented on ongoing discussions concerning the company’s dual share class structure.
Meanwhile, LaRue said the company hopes to have reached a resolution regarding its strategic review of assets by the first quarter of 2017.