RioCan REIT Announces $200 Million Public Offering of Trust Units

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 11, 2012) -

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR OVER UNITED STATES WIRE SERVICES

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust ("RioCan") (TSX:REI.UN) announced today that it has reached an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters co-led by RBC Capital Markets and TD Securities Inc. to issue to the public, subject to regulatory approval, 7,465,000 trust units (the "Units") for $26.80 per Unit for gross proceeds of $200,062,000. RioCan has also granted the underwriters an option, exercisable at any time up to 48 hours prior to the closing of the offering, to purchase a further 1,119,750 units at the issue price which, if fully exercised, would result in additional gross proceeds of $30,009,300.

RioCan will use the proceeds from this equity offering to repay certain indebtedness, including the repayment of debt under RioCan's operating lines of credit and the early prepayment of certain debt secured by specific properties and incurred in the ordinary course, for property acquisitions, to fund development and for general trust purposes.

The offering is being made under RioCan's amended and restated base shelf short form prospectus dated December 21, 2010 amending and restating the base shelf short form prospectus dated July 6, 2010. The terms of the offering will be described in a prospectus supplement to be filed with Canadian securities regulators. The offering is expected to close on or about April 20, 2012.

The press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in any jurisdiction. The Units being offered have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and state securities laws. Accordingly, the Units may not be offered or sold to U.S. persons except pursuant to applicable exemptions from registration.

About RioCan:

RioCan is Canada's largest real estate investment trust with a total capitalization of approximately $12.5 billion as at December 31, 2011. It owns and manages Canada's largest portfolio of shopping centres with ownership interests in a portfolio of 331 retail properties containing an aggregate of 79 million square feet, including 45 grocery anchored and new format retail centres containing 12 million square feet in the United States through outright ownership and various joint venture arrangements. RioCan's portfolio also includes 10 properties under development in Canada. For further information, please refer to RioCan's website at www.riocan.com.