Tampa real estate trust seeks more Wall Street respectability

Sila Realty Trust announced Monday that it is working to get listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Tampa REIT, which specializes in the health care sector, says in a statement that its board of directors approved a move to pursue joining one of the world’s preeminent exchanges later this year.

Michael A. Seton, Sila’s president and CEO, says in the statement that joining the NYSE gives shareholders liquidity options and the company access to public equity markets both of which will “consequently enhance value.”

That it will get its wish is not a foregone conclusion.

In a statement, Sila cautioned that getting listed on the exchange is subject to, among other things, the company “meeting the NYSE listing requirements and receiving NYSE listing authorization, as well as market conditions.”

“There can be no assurance as to whether, or when, the listing may be completed.”

Getting listed on the New York Stock Exchange is a four-step process which includes filing a formal application, choosing a market to be traded on, reserving a ticker symbol and selecting a designated market maker.

(A market maker, according NYSE’s website, is to “facilitate price discovery for your stock during market opens, closes and during periods of substantial trading imbalances or instability.”)

Sila says that if approved, it would trade under the ticker symbol SILA.

As it prepares — hopes — to be listed, the company says in the statement that it is immediately suspending its Amended and Restated Share Repurchase Program and, on May 1, terminating its Amended and Restated Distribution Reinvestment Plan.

Also on May 1 it will put into place a 1-for-4 reverse split of all classes of it common stock.

Sila is based in Water Street Tampa and owns more than 131 properties and two undeveloped parcels in 62 U.S. markets.

Since selling 29 data centers in 2021 for $1.32 billion, it has been mostly focused on the health care industry, recently buying properties in Arizona, Indianapolis, Chicago and Washington state.

According to its fourth-quarter earnings report released last month, its net operating income was up 2% to $38.4 million when compared to the fourth quarter the previous year. Year over year, its net operating income rose 1% to $142 million.