Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: STWD) today issued an open letter to stockholders. The text follows:
Dear Starwood Shareholder,
We hope this letter finds you and your families safe and in good health.
We wanted to provide an update on the state of Starwood Property Trust (STWD) a few weeks into this rapidly unfolding health crisis.
The Company's Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.48 per share of common stock for the quarter ending March 31, 2020 that is payable on April 15, 2020 to common stockholders of record as of March 31, 2020. We are confirming today that we will pay this dividend in cash as scheduled.
Beginning with our IPO in 2009, we set out to build a diversified finance company that would provide safe and stable returns through all market cycles. We have financing lines with over 20 different counterparties with a weighted average maturity in excess of 5 years. We also have over $3 billion of unencumbered assets and no corporate debt maturities in 2020.
As of today, STWD has approximately $800 million in cash. Our multi-cylinder platform provides us with additional sources of incremental liquidity.
Our manager, Starwood Capital Group, is almost 30 years old and was born out of the savings and loan crisis in 1991. We have been through every subsequent credit and economic crisis and have always emerged stronger. We expect to do so now. Crises can present unusual opportunities and while we are being prudent and judicious in this uncertain climate, we look forward to deploying our significant financial resources and global footprint to take advantage of market dislocations as they continue to arise. All the professionals of both Starwood Property Trust and Starwood Capital Group are laser focused on ensuring that STWD emerges from the COVID-19 crisis stronger than ever.
During these unprecedented times, we wish good health to you and your loved ones. We thank you for your past support and for the trust you have placed in us.
Barry S. Sternlicht
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
About Starwood Property Trust, Inc.
Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), is a leading diversified finance company with a core focus on the real estate and infrastructure sectors. An affiliate of global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group, the Company has successfully deployed over $61 billion of capital since inception and manages a portfolio of over $17 billion across debt and equity investments. Starwood Property Trust's investment objective is to generate attractive and stable returns for shareholders, primarily through dividends, by leveraging a premiere global organization to identify and execute on the best risk adjusted returning investments across its target assets. Additional information can be found at www.starwoodpropertytrust.com.
