Exhibit 99.1
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Redwood
Trust, Inc.
Tuesday,
January 27, 2009
|
CONTACTS: Martin
S. Hughes
(415) 389-7373
Mike McMahon
(415)
384-3805
|
Redwood
Trust Announces the Closing of its Common Stock Offering
Mill
Valley, CA – January 27, 2009 - Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE: RWT) today announced
today that it closed its common stock offering of 23 million shares at $11.25
per share. In addition, the underwriters of the offering exercised
their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 3.45 million shares of
common stock and the offering of those additional shares also closed today.
Redwood expects net proceeds from the offering, including the exercise of
the over-allotment option, after deducting underwriting discounts and
commissions and estimated offering expenses, to be approximately
$282.7 million.
The sole
bookrunning manager for the offering is J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.
The
public offering was made by means of a prospectus. Redwood Trust has filed a
registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to
which this communication relates. You may get these documents
for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively,
the issuer, any underwriter, or any dealer participating in the offering will
arrange to send you the relevant prospectus if you request it by contacting J.P.
Morgan Securities Inc., Chase Distribution & Support Service, Attn: Charles
Buckheit/Bob Foley, 4 Chase Metrotech Center, CS Level, Brooklyn, NY 11245 or by
calling 1-866-430-0686.
This press release does not
constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of
an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities
in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would
be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state
or jurisdiction.
CAUTIONARY
STATEMENT: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 including statements related to the closing date of the
offering and the use of the net proceeds. Forward-looking statements involve
numerous risks and uncertainties. Redwood’s actual results may differ from our
expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you should not rely
on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events.
Forward-looking statements are not historical in nature and can be identified by
words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “believe,”
“intend,” “seek,” “plan,” and similar expressions or their negative forms, or by
references to strategy, plans, or intentions. These forward-looking statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, those
described in Redwood’s Prospectus Supplement dated January 21, 2009, the
accompanying Prospectus dated November 23, 2007, and the documents incorporated
in the Prospectus Supplement and the Prospectus by reference. We undertake no
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Important factors, among
others, that may affect our actual results include: changes in interest rates;
changes in mortgage prepayment rates; the timing of credit losses within our
portfolio; our exposure to adjustable-rate and negative amortization mortgage
loans; the state of the credit markets and other general economic conditions,
particularly as they affect the price of earning assets and the credit status of
borrowers; the concentration of the credit risks we are exposed to; the ability
of counterparties to satisfy their obligations to us; legislative and
regulatory actions affecting the mortgage industry; the availability of high
quality assets for purchase at attractive prices; declines in home prices and
commercial real estate prices; increases in mortgage payment delinquencies;
changes in the level of liquidity in the capital markets which may adversely
affect our ability to finance our real estate asset portfolio; changes in
liquidity in the market for real estate securities, the re-pricing of credit
risk in the capital markets, inaccurate ratings of securities by rating
agencies, rating agency downgrades of securities, and increases in the supply of
real estate securities available-for-sale, each of which may adversely affect
the values of securities we own; the extent of changes in the values of
securities we own and the impact of adjustments reflecting those changes on our
income statement and balance sheet, including our stockholders’ equity; our
ability to maintain the positive stockholders’ equity necessary to enable us to
pay the dividends required to maintain our status as a real estate investment
trust for tax purposes; changes in our investment, financing, and hedging
strategies and the new risks that those changes may expose us to; changes in the
competitive landscape within our industry and for the personnel we need to
retain or attract; our failure to manage various operational risks associated
with our business; our failure to maintain appropriate internal controls over
financial reporting; our failure to properly administer and manage our
securitization entities; risks we may be exposed to if we expand our business
activities, such as risks relating to significantly increasing our direct
holdings of loans; limitations imposed on our business due to our REIT status
and our status as exempt from the Investment Company Act of 1940; our ability to
raise additional capital to fund our investing activity; and other factors not
presently identified.