PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IRT) (the "Company") today announced that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 6,000,000 shares of common stock. The Company expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 900,000 additional shares of common stock.

RAIT Financial Trust (“RAIT”) may purchase up to $5.0 million in shares of common stock in the proposed offering at the public offering price; however, RAIT is under no obligation to purchase any shares in the offering.

Deutsche Bank Securities is acting as the book-running manager of the offering. Compass Point, Ladenburg Thalmann, William Blair, JMP Securities, Drexel Hamilton, The Huntington Investment Company and National Securities Corporation are acting as co-managers of the offering.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to acquire additional apartment properties and in the ordinary course of its business and, to a lesser extent, for general corporate purposes and working capital as described in the prospectus supplement referenced below.

A registration statement relating to the offered securities has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and an accompanying prospectus. Copies of the prospectus and the prospectus supplement relating to the offering, when available, may be obtained by contacting Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Attention: Prospectus Group, 60 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005-2836, by calling (800) 503-4611, or by emailing prospectus.cpdg@db.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, 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 before registration or qualification thereof under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Independence Realty Trust, Inc.

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that seeks to own well-located apartment properties in geographic submarkets that it believes support strong occupancy and the potential for growth in rental rates. The Company seeks to provide stockholders with attractive risk-adjusted returns, with an emphasis on distributions and capital appreciation. The Company is externally advised by a wholly-owned subsidiary of RAIT Financial Trust (NYSE: RAS).

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." These forward -looking statements relate to beliefs, expectations or intentions and similar statements concerning matters that are not of historical fact and are generally accompanied by words such as "estimate," "project," "predict," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "anticipate," "potential," "plan," "goal" or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, completion and terms of the offering and the intended use of the net proceeds of the offering. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations and assumptions about future events. While the Company's management considers these expectations to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

Independence Realty Trust, Inc.
Andres Viroslav, 215-243-9000
aviroslav@irtreit.com

Source: Independence Realty Trust, Inc.