EOP Equity Office Properties Tru

Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE:EOP) announced today that its Board of Trustees has declared a fourth quarter cash dividend in the amount of $0.33 per common share. The dividend will be paid on Friday, December 29, 2006, to common shareholders of record at the close of business on Friday, December 15, 2006. On November 19, 2006, Equity Office signed a merger agreement to be acquired by Blackstone Real Estate Partners V L.P., an affiliate of The Blackstone Group. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007. Under the terms of the agreement, Equity Office does not anticipate payments of its regular quarterly common share dividend subsequent to the December payment. Equity Office Properties Trust, operating through its various subsidiaries and affiliates, is the nation's largest publicly held office building owner and manager with a total office portfolio consisting of whole or partial interests in 580 buildings comprising 108.6 million square feet in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Equity Office has an ownership presence in 24 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and in 100 submarkets, enabling it to provide a wide range of office solutions for local, regional and national customers. For more company information visit the Equity Office website at http://www.equityoffice.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current Equity Office management expectations. Those forward-looking statements include all statements other than those made solely with respect to historical fact. Numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be or have been instituted against Equity Office and others following announcement of the merger agreement; (3) the inability to complete the merger due to the failure to obtain shareholder approval or the failure to satisfy other conditions to completion of the merger, including the receipt of shareholder approval and the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976; (4) the failure to obtain the necessary debt financing arrangements set forth in commitment letters received in connection with the merger; (5) risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations and the potential difficulties in employee retention as a result of the merger; (6) the ability to recognize the benefits of the merger; (7) the amount of the costs, fees, expenses and charges related to the merger and the actual terms of certain financings that will be obtained for the merger; and (8) the impact of the substantial indebtedness incurred to finance the consummation of the merger; and other risks that are set forth in the "Risk Factors," "Legal Proceedings" and "Management Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition" sections of Equity Office's SEC filings. Many of the factors that will determine the outcome of the subject matter of this press release are beyond Equity Office's ability to control or predict. Equity Office undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional Information About the Merger and Where to Find It In connection with this proposed transaction, the company will file a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. The final proxy statement will be mailed to the company's shareholders. In addition, shareholders will be able to obtain the proxy statement and all other relevant documents filed by the company with the SEC free of charge at the SEC's Web site www.sec.gov or from Equity Office Properties Trust, Investor Relations at Two North Riverside Plaza, Suite 2100, Chicago, Illinois, 60606, (312) 466-3300. Participants in the Solicitation The company's trustees, executive officers and other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of the company in favor of the proposed transaction. Information about the company and its trustees and executive officers, and their ownership of the company's securities, is set forth in the proxy statement for the 2006 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Company, which was filed with the SEC on April 17, 2006. Additional information regarding the interests of those persons may be obtained by reading the proxy statement when it becomes available.