Fortis reaches deal to sell 14 buildings in Atlantic Canada

St. John's-based Fortis Inc. has reached a deal to sell 14 different buildings in three provinces to a Toronto real estate management company.

Ten of the 14 buildings are in Fortis's home province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and includesthe newly completed Fortis Building and Fortis Place office towers in St. John's, the Fraser Mall in Gander and the Milbrook Mall in Corner Brook.

The other properties are in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It involves the Maritime Centre in Halifax, Brunswick Square in Saint John, Kings Place in Fredericton and Blue Cross Centre in Moncton.

A subsidiary of Slate Office REIT, a real estate investment trust formerly known as FAM REIT, is paying $430 million to pick up the commercial real estate portfolio that Fortis owns through its properties division.

Fortis announced its plans in January to sell off its commercial properties and to focus instead on its core businesses, primarily utilities. Among other companies, Fortis owns Newfoundland Power, the largest distributor of electricity in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The deal does not include any of the hotels that Fortis directly owns, although Fortispresident and CEO Barry Perry said a review process is still underway on those properties.

The transaction is expected to close late in the second quarter or early in the third.