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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents


Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333- 222136

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

           
 
Title of Each Class of Securities
to be Registered

  Amount to be
Registered

  Proposed Maximum
Aggregate Offering
Price

  Amount of
Registration Fee

 

Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share

  $750,000,000   $750,000,000   $93,375.00(1)

 

(1)
Calculated in accordance with Rule 457(o), based on the proposed maximum aggregate offering price, and Rule 457(r) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus Dated December 18, 2017)

$750,000,000

LOGO

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

Common Stock



           On August 31, 2018 we entered into a distribution agreement with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., BTIG, LLC, Evercore Group L.L.C., Mizuho Securities USA LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC (or certain of their respective affiliates), acting in their capacity as Sales Agents (as described below), Forward Purchasers (as described below) or as Forward Sellers (as described below), relating to the shares of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, offered under this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus having an aggregate offering price of up to $750,000,000. We refer to these entities, when acting in their capacity as sales agents, individually as a "Sales Agent" and together as "Sales Agents." We refer to these entities, when acting as agents for Forward Purchasers (as defined below), individually as a "Forward Seller" and together as "Forward Sellers."

           The distribution agreement provides that, in addition to the issuance and sale of the shares of our common stock by us through the Sales Agents, we may also enter into one or more forward sale agreements under a master forward sale agreement we entered into with each of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas, Royal Bank of Canada and The Bank of Nova Scotia (individually, a "Forward Purchaser" and together, the "Forward Purchasers"). We may also in the future enter into additional forward sale agreements with other Sales Agents or their affiliates in accordance with procedures set forth in the distribution agreement. In connection with any forward sale agreement, the relevant Forward Purchaser, each of which is either a Sales Agent or an affiliate of a Sales Agent, will, at our request, borrow from third parties and, through its affiliated Forward Seller, sell a number of shares of our common stock equal to the number of shares of our common stock underlying the particular forward sale agreement. In no event will the aggregate number of shares of our common stock sold through the Sales Agents or the Forward Sellers under the distribution agreement and under any forward sale agreement have an aggregate sales price in excess of $750,000,000.

           In accordance with the terms of the distribution agreement, we may offer and sell shares of our common stock at any time and from time to time through the Sales Agents or the Forward Sellers. Sales of the shares, if any, will be made by means of ordinary brokers' transactions on the New York Stock Exchange or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of the sale. In addition, our common stock may be offered and sold by such other methods, including privately negotiated transactions (including block transactions), as we and a Sales Agent or a Forward Seller agree to in writing. Each Sales Agent will receive from us a commission of up to 1.5% of the gross sales price per share for any shares sold through it under the distribution agreement. In connection with any forward sale agreement, we will pay the relevant Forward Seller, in the form of a reduced initial forward sale price under the related forward sale agreement with the related Forward Purchaser, commissions at a mutually agreed rate that will not exceed 1.5% of the gross sales prices of all borrowed shares of common stock sold during the applicable forward hedge selling period by it as a Forward Seller. The net proceeds we receive from the sale of our common stock in this offering will be the gross proceeds received from such sales less the commissions and any other costs we may incur in issuing and/or selling the shares of our common stock. Subject to the terms and conditions of the distribution agreement, each Sales Agent and Forward Seller will use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell on our behalf any shares to be offered by us under the distribution agreement. See "Plan of Distribution."

           We will not initially receive any proceeds from the sale of borrowed shares of our common stock by a Forward Seller. We expect to fully physically settle each particular forward sale agreement (by delivering shares of our common stock) with the relevant Forward Purchaser on one or more dates specified by us on or prior to the maturity date of that particular forward sale agreement, in which case we will expect to receive aggregate net cash proceeds at settlement equal to the number of shares underlying the particular forward sale agreement multiplied by the relevant forward sale price. However, subject to certain exceptions, we may also elect to cash settle or net share settle a particular forward sale agreement, in which case we may not receive any proceeds (in the case of cash settlement) or will not receive any proceeds (in the case of net share settlement), and we may owe cash (in the case of cash settlement) or shares of common stock (in the case of net share settlement) to the relevant Forward Purchaser. See "Plan of Distribution."

           Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ARE." On August 30, 2018, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange was $127.35 per share.

           Investing in our common stock involves risks. See "Risk Factors" on page S-4 and the risks referred to in the section of the accompanying prospectus entitled "Risk Factors" as well as the risks identified in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") from time to time, which are incorporated herein by reference.

           Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.



Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

 

Barclays

 

BB&T Capital Markets

 
BNP PARIBAS

BTIG

  Evercore ISI   Mizuho Securities

RBC Capital Markets

  Scotiabank   SMBC   TD Securities



   

The date of this prospectus supplement is August 31, 2018


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 
  Page  

Prospectus Supplement

       

Forward-Looking Statements

    ii  

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. 

    S-1  

The Offering

    S-2  

Risk Factors

    S-4  

Use of Proceeds

    S-6  

Plan of Distribution

    S-7  

Legal Matters

    S-12  

Experts

    S-12  

Where You Can Find More Information

    S-12  

 

Prospectus

       

About this Prospectus

    1  

Risk Factors

    2  

Where You Can Find More Information

    2  

The Company

    3  

Securities That May Be Offered

    4  

Use of Proceeds

    5  

Consolidated Ratios of Earnings to Fixed Charges and Combined Fixed Charges and Preferred Stock Dividends

    5  

Description of Stock

    6  

Description of Rights

    11  

Description of Warrants

    12  

Description of Debt Securities and Related Guarantees

    13  

Description of Global Securities

    19  

Provisions of Maryland Law and of Our Charter and Bylaws

    21  

Federal Income Tax Considerations

    25  

Plan of Distribution

    40  

Legal Matters

    41  

Experts

    41  

Forward-Looking Statements

    41  

        You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not, and the Sales Agents, the Forward Sellers and the Forward Purchasers (and their affiliates) have not, authorized any other person to provide you with any different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the Sales Agents, the Forward Sellers and the Forward Purchasers (and their affiliates) are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and the documents incorporated by reference is accurate only as of their respective dates. Our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may have changed since those dates. In this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, unless otherwise indicated, the "Company," "we," "us," and "our" refer to Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

        This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain or incorporate by reference forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). You can identify the forward-looking statements by their use of forward-looking words, such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecast," "guidance," "anticipates," or "goals" or the negative of those words or similar words. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties regarding events, conditions, and financial trends that may affect our future plans of operation, business strategy, results of operations, and financial position. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those included within or contemplated by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to the following:

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        This list of risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. For a discussion of these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements, please see the discussion under "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" contained in the accompanying prospectus and the other information contained in our publicly available filings with the SEC, including our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Other than as may be required by law, we do not undertake any responsibility to update any of these factors or to announce publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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ALEXANDRIA REAL ESTATE EQUITIES, INC.

        We are a Maryland corporation formed in October 1994 that has elected to be taxed as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. We are an S&P 500® urban office REIT uniquely focused on collaborative life science and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations with a total market capitalization of $18.8 billion and an asset base in North America of 32.0 million square feet as of June 30, 2018. The asset base in North America includes 21.5 million rentable square feet ("RSF") of operating properties and 3.5 million RSF of development and redevelopment of new Class A properties currently undergoing construction and pre-construction activities with target delivery dates ranging from 2018 through 2020. Additionally, the asset base in North America includes 7.0 million square feet of intermediate-term and future development projects. Founded in 1994, we pioneered this niche and have since established a significant market presence in key locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle Park. We are known for our high-quality and diverse tenant base. We have a longstanding and proven track record of developing Class A properties clustered in urban life science and technology campuses that provide our innovative tenants with highly dynamic and collaborative environments that enhance their ability to successfully recruit and retain world-class talent and inspire productivity, efficiency, creativity, and success. Alexandria also provides strategic capital to transformative life science and technology companies through our venture capital arm. We believe these advantages result in higher occupancy levels, longer lease terms, higher rental income, higher returns, and greater long-term asset value.

        Our primary business objective is to maximize stockholder value by providing our stockholders with the greatest possible total return and long-term asset value based on a multifaceted platform of internal and external growth. A key element of our strategy is our unique focus on Class A properties clustered in urban campuses. These key urban campus locations are characterized by high barriers to entry for new landlords, high barriers to exit for tenants, and a limited supply of available space. They represent highly desirable locations for tenancy by life science and technology entities because of their close proximity to concentrations of specialized skills, knowledge, institutions, and related businesses. Our strategy also includes drawing upon our deep and broad real estate, life science, and technology relationships in order to identify and attract new and leading tenants and to source additional value-creation real estate.

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THE OFFERING

        The offering terms are summarized below solely for convenience. For a more complete description of the terms of the common stock, see "Description of Stock" in the accompanying prospectus.

Issuer

  Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

Securities offered

 

Common stock with an aggregate offering price of up to $750,000,000.

New York Stock Exchange symbol

 

ARE

Use of proceeds

 

We intend to initially use the net proceeds (1) from the sale of shares of our common stock through the Sales Agents and (2) upon the settlement of any forward sale agreements, in each case, for general working capital and corporate purposes, which may include reducing the outstanding balance on our unsecured senior line of credit, repaying other indebtedness, the selective development, redevelopment, or acquisition of properties, or the repurchase of our outstanding preferred stock.

Accounting treatment of forward sales

 

Before any issuance of shares of our common stock upon physical settlement or net share settlement of any forward sale agreement, the shares issuable upon settlement of such forward sale agreement will be reflected in our diluted earnings per share calculations using the treasury stock method. Under this method, the number of shares of our common stock used in calculating diluted earnings per share is deemed to be increased by the excess, if any, of the number of shares of our common stock that would be issued upon full physical settlement of such forward sale agreement over the number of shares of our common stock that could be purchased by us in the market (based on the average market price during the relevant period) using the proceeds receivable upon full physical settlement (based on the adjusted forward sale price at the end of the relevant reporting period).

 

Consequently, prior to physical settlement or net share settlement of a particular forward sale agreement and subject to the occurrence of certain events, we anticipate there will be no dilutive effect on our earnings per share except during periods when the average market price of our common stock is above the applicable per share forward sale price under that particular forward sale agreement, subject to adjustment based on a floating interest rate factor equal to a specified daily rate less a spread, and subject to decrease by an amount per share specified in the particular forward sale agreements on each of certain dates specified in that particular forward sale agreement. However, if we decide to physically settle or net share settle a particular forward sale agreement, the delivery by us of shares of our common stock on any physical settlement or net share settlement of such forward sale agreement will result in dilution to our earnings per share and return on equity.

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Material U.S. federal income tax considerations

 

For a description of material U.S. federal income tax considerations of an investment in our common stock, please review the disclosure in the accompanying prospectus under "Federal Income Tax Considerations" as supplemented by the tax discussion in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Risk factors

 

You should read carefully the "Risk Factors" beginning on page S-4 of this prospectus supplement and page 1 of the accompanying prospectus for certain considerations relevant to an investment in our common stock.

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RISK FACTORS

        An investment in our common stock involves risks. New risks may emerge at any time and we cannot predict such risks or estimate the extent to which they may affect our financial performance. You should carefully consider the risks referred to in the sections of the accompanying prospectus entitled "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" as well as the risks identified in (i) this prospectus supplement and (ii) our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, each of which are incorporated herein by reference. These risks are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. Our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by the materialization of any of these risks. The trading price of our securities could decline due to the materialization of any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Provisions contained in a forward sale agreement could result in substantial dilution to our earnings per share and return on equity or result in substantial cash payment obligations.

        If we enter into one or more forward sale agreements, the relevant Forward Purchaser will have the right to accelerate its forward sale agreement (with respect to all or any portion of the transaction under such forward sale agreement that the Forward Purchaser determines is affected by an event described below) and require us to settle on a date specified by such Forward Purchaser if:

        A Forward Purchaser's decision to exercise its right to accelerate the settlement of any forward sale agreement will be made irrespective of our interests, including our need for capital. In such cases, we could be required to issue and deliver shares of our common stock under the physical settlement provisions of the applicable forward sale agreement, irrespective of our capital needs, which would result in dilution to our earnings per share and return on equity.

        We expect that settlement of any forward sale agreement will generally occur no later than the date specified in the particular forward sale agreement, which will be no earlier than three months or

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later than two years following the trade date of that forward sale agreement. However, any forward sale agreement may be settled earlier than that specified date in whole or in part at our option. Subject to certain conditions, we have the right to elect physical, cash or net share settlement under each forward sale agreement. We intend to physically settle each forward sale agreement by delivery of shares of our common stock. However, we may elect to cash settle or net share settle such forward sale agreement. Delivery of shares of our common stock upon physical settlement (or, if we elect net share settlement of a particular forward sale agreement, upon such settlement to the extent we are obligated to deliver shares of our common stock) will result in dilution to our earnings per share and return on equity. If we elect cash settlement or net share settlement with respect to all or a portion of the shares of our common stock underlying a particular forward sale agreement, we expect the applicable Forward Purchaser (or an affiliate thereof) to purchase a number of shares of our common stock in secondary market transactions over an unwind period to:

        The purchase of shares of our common stock in connection with a Forward Purchaser or its affiliate unwinding the Forward Purchaser's hedge positions could cause the price of shares of our common stock to increase over such time (or prevent a decrease over such time), thereby increasing the amount of cash we would owe to such Forward Purchaser (or decreasing the amount of cash that the Forward Purchaser would owe us) upon a cash settlement of the relevant forward sale agreement or increasing the number of shares of our common stock we would deliver to such Forward Purchaser (or decreasing the number of shares of our common stock that such Forward Purchaser would deliver to us) upon net share settlement of the relevant forward sale agreement.

        The forward sale price that we expect to receive upon physical settlement of a particular forward sale agreement will be subject to adjustment on a daily basis based on a floating interest rate factor equal to a specified daily rate less a spread and will be decreased based on amounts related to expected dividends on shares of our common stock during the term of the applicable forward sale agreement. If the specified daily rate is less than the spread for a particular forward sale agreement on any day, the interest factor will result in a daily reduction of the applicable forward sale price. If the weighted average price at which a Forward Purchaser (or its affiliate) is able to purchase shares during the applicable unwind period under a particular forward sale agreement is above the relevant forward sale price, in the case of cash settlement, we would pay the applicable Forward Purchaser under such forward sale agreement an amount in cash equal to the difference or, in the case of net share settlement, we would deliver to the relevant Forward Purchaser a number of shares of our common stock having a value equal to the difference. Thus, we could be responsible for a potentially substantial cash payment in the case of cash settlement. If the weighted average price at which a particular Forward Purchaser (or its affiliate) is able to purchase shares during the applicable unwind period under that particular forward sale agreement is below the relevant forward sale price, in the case of cash settlement, we would be paid the difference in cash by the relevant Forward Purchaser under that particular forward sale agreement or, in the case of net share settlement, we would receive from such Forward Purchaser a number of shares of our common stock having a value equal to the difference. See "Plan of Distribution" for information on the forward sale agreements.

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In case of our bankruptcy or insolvency, any forward sale agreement that is in effect will automatically terminate, and we would not receive the expected proceeds from any forward sales of our common stock.

        If we or a regulatory authority with jurisdiction over us institutes, or we consent to, a proceeding seeking a judgment in bankruptcy or insolvency or any other relief under any bankruptcy or insolvency law or other similar law affecting creditors' rights, or we or a regulatory authority with jurisdiction over us presents a petition for our winding-up or liquidation, or we consent to such a petition, any forward sale agreement that is then in effect will automatically terminate. If any such forward sale agreement so terminates under these circumstances, we would not be obligated to deliver to the relevant Forward Purchaser any shares of our common stock not previously delivered, and the relevant Forward Purchaser would be discharged from its obligation to pay the applicable forward sale price per share in respect of any shares of our common stock not previously settled under the applicable forward sale agreement. Therefore, to the extent that there are any shares of our common stock with respect to which any forward sale agreement has not been settled at the time of the commencement of any such bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, we would not receive the relevant forward sale price per share in respect of those shares of our common stock.


USE OF PROCEEDS

        We intend to initially use the net proceeds (1) from the sale of shares of our common stock through the Sales Agents and (2) upon the settlement of any forward sale agreements, in each case, for general working capital and corporate purposes, which may include reducing the outstanding balance on our unsecured senior line of credit, repaying other indebtedness, the selective development, redevelopment, or acquisition of properties, or the repurchase of our outstanding preferred stock. As of June 30, 2018, we had no debt outstanding under our unsecured senior line of credit. Our unsecured senior line of credit matures in October 2021, provided that we exercise our sole right to extend the maturity twice by an additional six months after each exercise. Affiliates of each of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Mizuho Securities USA LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC are lenders and/or agents under our unsecured senior line of credit. See "Plan of Distribution."

        To the extent that we elect to cash settle any particular forward sale agreement, we may not receive any net proceeds (or may owe cash to the relevant Forward Purchaser). To the extent that we elect to net share settle any particular forward sale agreement in full, we would not receive any proceeds from the relevant Forward Purchaser.

        We will not initially receive any proceeds from any sales of shares of our common stock by a Forward Seller in connection with any forward sale agreement. We expect to fully physically settle each particular forward sale agreement, in which case we will expect to receive aggregate net cash proceeds at settlement equal to the number of shares underlying the particular forward sale agreement multiplied by the relevant forward sale price. The forward sale price that we expect to receive upon physical settlement of a particular forward sale agreement will be equal to the gross sales prices of all borrowed shares of common stock sold by the relevant Forward Seller during the applicable forward hedge selling period less a forward hedge selling commission not to exceed 1.5%, will be subject to adjustment on a daily basis based on a floating interest rate factor equal to the overnight bank rate less a spread and will be decreased based on amounts related to expected dividends on shares of our common stock during the term of the particular forward sale agreement. If the overnight bank rate is less than the spread for a particular forward sale agreement on any day, the interest factor will result in a daily reduction of the applicable forward sale price.

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

        We have entered into a distribution agreement, dated as of August 31, 2018, with the Sales Agents, Forward Sellers and Forward Purchasers under which we may issue and/or sell up to an aggregate of $750,000,000 of our common stock from time to time, through the Sales Agents as our sales agents or the Forward Sellers as agents for the applicable Forward Purchaser, for the offer and sale of the shares. The sales, if any, of our common stock made under the distribution agreement, and to which this prospectus supplement relates, will be made in "at the market" offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including sales made directly on the New York Stock Exchange, the existing trading market for our common stock, or sales made to or through a market maker or through an electronic communications network. In addition, our common stock may be offered and sold by such other methods, including privately negotiated transactions (including block transactions), as we and a Sales Agent or a Forward Seller agree to in writing.

        We also may sell shares of our common stock to one or more of the Sales Agents, as principal for their own accounts, at a price per share agreed upon at the time of sale. If we sell shares to one or more Sales Agents, as principal, we will enter into a separate terms agreement with such Sales Agent or Sales Agents, and we will describe the agreement in a separate prospectus supplement or pricing supplement.

        The distribution agreement provides that, in addition to the issuance and sale of shares of our common stock by us through the Sales Agents, we may also enter into one or more forward sale agreements under any of the master forward sale agreements we entered into with each of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas, Royal Bank of Canada and The Bank of Nova Scotia or under any master forward sale agreements we may enter into, from time to time, with any additional Forward Purchaser in the future, each of which is either a Sales Agent or an affiliate of a Sales Agent. In connection with any forward sale agreement, the relevant Forward Purchaser or its affiliate will, at our request, borrow from third parties and, through the affiliated Forward Seller, sell a number of shares of our common stock equal to the number of shares of our common stock underlying such forward sale agreement. In no event will the aggregate number of shares of our common stock sold through the Sales Agents or the Forward Sellers under the distribution agreement and under any forward sale agreement have an aggregate sales price in excess of $750,000,000.

        Under certain circumstances, we have agreed to reimburse the Sales Agents, the Forward Sellers and the Forward Purchasers for their reasonable documented out-of-pocket expenses, including fees and expenses of counsel, in connection with the distribution agreement; provided that we are not required to reimburse the Sales Agents, the Forward Sellers or the Forward Purchasers, collectively, for more than $150,000 of such fees and expenses for the initial documentation and due diligence, unless we otherwise consent in writing.

        In connection with the sale of our common stock on our behalf, each Sales Agent, Forward Seller or Forward Purchaser may be deemed to be an "underwriter" within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the compensation paid to the Sales Agents, the Forward Sellers or the Forward Purchasers may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have agreed in the distribution agreement to provide indemnification and contribution to the Sales Agents, Forward Sellers and Forward Purchasers against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

        Sales of the common stock as contemplated by this prospectus supplement will be settled through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company or by such other means as we and the applicable Sales Agent or Forward Seller may agree upon.

        The offering of the common stock pursuant to the distribution agreement will terminate upon the earliest of (1) the sale of the maximum aggregate amount of our common stock subject to the distribution agreement; (2) the termination of the distribution agreement by either us at any time upon

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one trading day's notice or a Sales Agent, Forward Seller or Forward Purchaser with respect to its respective obligations under the distribution agreement, at any time upon 10 days' notice, or upon one trading day's notice in certain circumstances, including certain bankruptcy events relating to us or any material subsidiary, our failure to maintain a listing of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange or the occurrence of a material adverse effect on our Company; and (3) thirty-six (36) months from the date of this prospectus supplement.

        Our common stock is an "actively-traded security" excepted from the requirements of Rule 101 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act by Rule 101(c)(1) under that Act. If the Sales Agents, the Forward Sellers, the Forward Purchasers or we have reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are not satisfied, that party will promptly notify the others and sales of common stock under the distribution agreement will be suspended until that or other exemptive provisions have been satisfied in the judgment of the Sales Agents, the Forward Sellers, the Forward Purchasers and us.

Sales Through Sales Agents

        From time to time during the term of the distribution agreement, we may deliver a placement notice to one of the Sales Agents specifying the length of the selling period, the amount of shares of common stock to be sold and the minimum price below which sales may not be made.

        Each Sales Agent has agreed that, upon receipt of a placement notice from us that is accepted by a Sales Agent, and subject to the terms and conditions of the distribution agreement, such Sales Agent will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such shares of our common stock on such terms. We or such Sales Agent may suspend the offering of the shares of common stock at any time upon proper notice to the other party, upon which the selling period will immediately terminate. Settlement for sales of the shares of our common stock is expected to occur on the second business day that is also a trading day on the New York Stock Exchange following the date on which such sales are made, unless otherwise specified in the applicable placement notice. The obligation of each Sales Agent under the distribution agreement to sell common shares pursuant to any placement notice is subject to a number of conditions, which such Sales Agent reserves the right to waive in its sole discretion.

        We will pay each Sales Agent a commission of up to 1.5% of the gross sales price per share for any shares sold through it as an agent under the distribution agreement.

Sales Through Forward Sellers

        From time to time during the term of the distribution agreement, and subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein and in the related master forward sale agreement, we may deliver a placement notice relating to a forward sale to any of the Forward Sellers and the applicable Forward Purchaser. Upon acceptance by a Forward Seller and the applicable Forward Purchaser of a placement notice from us requesting that the Forward Seller execute sales of shares of borrowed common stock in connection with a forward sale agreement, subject to the terms and conditions of the distribution agreement and the applicable forward sale agreement, the relevant Forward Purchaser or its affiliate will use commercially reasonable efforts to borrow, and the relevant Forward Seller will use commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell, the borrowed shares of our common stock on such terms to hedge the relevant Forward Purchaser's exposure under that particular forward sale agreement. We or the relevant Forward Seller may immediately suspend the offering of our common stock under a forward sale agreement at any time upon proper notice to the other. The obligation of the relevant Forward Seller under the distribution agreement to execute such sales of our common stock is subject to a number of conditions, which each Forward Seller reserves the right to waive in its sole discretion.

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        In connection with each forward sale agreement, we will pay the relevant Forward Seller, in the form of a reduced initial forward sale price under the related forward sale agreement with the related Forward Purchaser, commissions at a mutually agreed rate that will not exceed 1.5% of the gross sales price of all borrowed shares of common stock sold during the applicable forward hedge selling period by it as a Forward Seller. We refer to this commission rate as the forward selling commission. The forward hedge selling period will be the period of one to 20 consecutive trading days determined by us in our sole discretion and as specified in the relevant placement notice.

        The forward sale price per share under each forward sale agreement will initially equal the product of (1) an amount equal to one minus the applicable forward selling commission and (2) the volume-weighted average price per share at which the shares of borrowed common stock were sold pursuant to the distribution agreement by the relevant Forward Seller. Thereafter, the forward sale price will be subject to adjustment as described below.

        The forward sale agreements, the terms of which may not be less than three months or more than two years, will provide that the forward sale price, as well as the sales prices used to calculate the initial forward sale price, will be subject to increase or decrease based on the overnight bank rate, less a spread, and subject to decrease by amounts related to expected dividends on our common stock during the term of the particular forward sale agreement. If the overnight bank rate is less than the spread for a particular forward sale agreement on any day, the interest factor will result in a daily reduction of the forward sale price.

        Except under limited circumstances described below, we have the right to elect physical, cash or net share settlement under any forward sale agreement. Although we expect to settle any forward sale agreement entirely by delivering shares of our common stock in connection with full physical settlement, we may, subject to certain conditions, elect cash settlement or net share settlement for all or a portion of our obligations under a particular forward sale agreement if we conclude that it is in our interest to do so. For example, we may conclude that it is in our interest to cash settle or net share settle a particular forward sale agreement if we have no then-current use for all or a portion of the net proceeds that we would receive upon physical settlement. In addition, subject to certain conditions, we may elect to accelerate the settlement of all or a portion of the number of shares of our common stock underlying a particular forward sale agreement.

        If we elect to physically settle any forward sale agreement by issuing and delivering shares of our common stock, we will receive an amount of cash from the relevant Forward Purchaser equal to the product of the forward sale price per share under that particular forward sale agreement and the number of shares of our common stock underlying the particular forward sale agreement. If we elect cash settlement or net share settlement with respect to all or a portion of the shares of our common stock underlying a forward sale agreement, we expect the applicable Forward Purchaser (or an affiliate thereof) to purchase a number of shares of our common stock in secondary market transactions over an unwind period to:

        If the weighted average price at which a Forward Purchaser (or its affiliate) is able to purchase shares during the applicable unwind period under a forward sale agreement is above the relevant forward sale price, in the case of cash settlement, we would pay the applicable Forward Purchaser under such forward sale agreement an amount in cash equal to the difference or, in the case of net share settlement, we would deliver to such Forward Purchaser a number of shares of our common

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stock having a value equal to the difference. Thus, we could be responsible for a potentially substantial cash payment in the case of cash settlement. If the weighted average price at which a Forward Purchaser (or its affiliate) is able to purchase shares during the applicable unwind period under a forward sale agreement is below the relevant forward sale price, in the case of cash settlement, we would be paid the difference in cash by the relevant Forward Purchaser under such forward sale agreement or, in the case of net share settlement, we would receive from such Forward Purchaser a number of shares of our common stock having a value equal to the difference.

        In addition, the purchase of shares of our common stock in connection with the relevant Forward Purchaser or its affiliate unwinding the Forward Purchaser's hedge positions could cause the price of shares of our common stock to increase over such time (or prevent a decrease over such time), thereby increasing the amount of cash we would owe to such Forward Purchaser (or decreasing the amount of cash that the Forward Purchaser would owe us) upon a cash settlement of the relevant forward sale agreement or increasing the number of shares of our common stock we would deliver to such Forward Purchaser (or decreasing the number of shares of our common stock that such Forward Purchaser would deliver to us) upon net share settlement of the relevant forward sale agreement. See "Risk Factors."

        Each Forward Purchaser will have the right to accelerate its forward sale agreement (with respect to all or any portion of the transaction under such forward sale agreement that the relevant Forward Purchaser determines is affected by such event) and require us to settle on a date specified by such Forward Purchaser if (1) in such Forward Purchaser's commercially reasonable judgment, it or its affiliate (x) is unable to hedge in a commercially reasonable manner its exposure under such forward sale agreement because insufficient shares of our common stock have been made available for borrowing by securities lenders or (y) would incur a stock loan cost in excess of a specified threshold to hedge in a commercially reasonable manner its exposure under such forward sale agreement; (2) we declare any dividend, issue or distribution on shares of our common stock (a) payable in cash in excess of specified amounts, (b) that constitutes an extraordinary dividend under the forward sale agreement, (c) payable in securities of another company as a result of a spin-off or similar transaction, or (d) of any other type of securities (other than our common stock), rights, warrants or other assets for payment at less than the prevailing market price; (3) certain ownership thresholds applicable to such Forward Purchaser and its affiliates are exceeded; (4) an event is announced that if consummated would result in a specified extraordinary event (including certain mergers or tender offers, as well as certain events involving our nationalization or insolvency or a delisting of our common stock) or the occurrence of a change in law or disruption in the Forward Purchaser's ability to hedge its exposure under the forward sale agreement; or (5) certain other events of default or termination events occur, including, among others, any material misrepresentation made in connection with such forward sale agreement or our insolvency (each as more fully described in each forward sale agreement). A Forward Purchaser's decision to exercise its right to accelerate any forward sale agreement and to require us to settle any such forward sale agreement will be made irrespective of our interests, including our need for capital. In such cases, we could be required to issue and deliver shares of our common stock under the terms of the physical settlement provisions of the applicable forward sale agreement irrespective of our capital needs, which would result in dilution to our earnings per share and return on equity. In addition, upon certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization relating to us, the forward sale agreement will terminate without further liability of either party. Following any such termination, we would not issue any shares of our common stock and we would not receive any proceeds pursuant to the forward sale agreement. See "Risk Factors."

Conflicts of Interest

        We expect that all of the proceeds of any shares sold by a Forward Seller will be paid to the related Forward Purchaser, which will be either a Sales Agent or an affiliate of a Sales Agent. See

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"Use of Proceeds." As a result, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas, Royal Bank of Canada and The Bank of Nova Scotia or their affiliates may receive more than 5% of the net proceeds of this offering, not including underwriting discount.

        In the ordinary course of business, the Sales Agents, the Forward Sellers, the Forward Purchasers and/or their respective affiliates have performed, and may in the future perform, investment banking, commercial banking, corporate trust, and other financial services to us and our affiliates from time to time for which they have received, and will receive, customary fees and reimbursement of expenses. More than 5% of the net proceeds may be used to repay indebtedness to banking affiliates of certain of the Sales Agents, the Forward Sellers or the Forward Purchasers. Nonetheless, the appointment of a qualified independent underwriter is not necessary in connection with this offering because, under Rule 5121 of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc., REITs are excluded from that requirement. Affiliates of each of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Mizuho Securities USA LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC are lenders under our unsecured senior line of credit and may receive a portion of any amount repaid under our unsecured senior line of credit from proceeds of offerings pursuant to the distribution agreement. See "Use of Proceeds." Affiliates of each of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., Mizuho Securities USA LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC are Co-Documentation Agents for our unsecured senior line of credit.

        Affiliates of each of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Mizuho Securities USA LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC are lenders under our unsecured senior bank term loan with an outstanding principal balance of $200.0 million (as of June 30, 2018) and a maturity date of January 3, 2019, assuming that we exercise the extension options available on such loan (the "2019 unsecured senior bank term loan"). Affiliates of each of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. are Co-Documentation Agents for our 2019 unsecured senior bank term loan.

        Affiliates of each of BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Mizuho Securities USA LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC are lenders under our unsecured senior bank term loan with an outstanding principal balance of $350.0 million (as of June 30, 2018) and a maturity date of January 15, 2021, assuming that we exercise the extension options available on such loan (the "2021 unsecured senior bank term loan"). Affiliates of each of RBC Capital Markets, LLC and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. are Co-Syndication Agents for our 2021 unsecured senior bank term loan. Affiliates of each of Mizuho Securities USA LLC and TD Securities (USA) LLC are Co-Documentation Agents for our 2021 unsecured senior bank term loan. Affiliates of each of RBC Capital Markets, LLC and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. are Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Book Running Managers for our 2021 unsecured senior bank term loan.

        Affiliates of each of BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC are lenders under and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. is the Administrative Agent for our construction loan for our development project at 50/60 Binney Street in our Cambridge submarket.

        Each Sales Agent may, to the extent permitted under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, purchase and sell shares of our common stock for its own account and for the account of its clients. In addition, the Company has acknowledged and agreed that each Sales Agent's affiliates may make markets in the our common stock or other securities of the Company, in connection with which they

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may buy and sell, as agent or principal, for long or short account, shares of our common stock or other securities of the Company, at the same time such Sales Agent is acting as agent pursuant to the distribution agreement.


LEGAL MATTERS

        Certain legal matters relating to this offering will be passed upon for us by Morrison & Foerster LLP, Los Angeles, California, and certain matters with respect to Maryland law, including the validity of the shares of the common stock offered hereby, will be passed upon for us by Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. The Sales Agents are represented by Clifford Chance US LLP, New York, New York. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP has advised the Forward Purchasers with respect to the forward sale agreements. Morrison & Foerster LLP and Clifford Chance US LLP will rely upon the opinion of Venable LLP as to all matters of Maryland law.


EXPERTS

        The consolidated financial statements of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. appearing in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.'s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2017 (including the schedule appearing therein), and the effectiveness of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.'s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017 have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.


WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

Where Documents are Filed; Copies of Documents

        We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act in accordance with which we file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. This prospectus supplement and the registration statement of which it forms a part, including the exhibits and schedules thereto, and the reports, proxy statements and other information we have filed with the SEC can be inspected and copied at the Public Reference Room maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Such material also may be accessed by visiting the following internet website maintained by the SEC that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, such as us, that file electronically with the SEC: http://www.sec.gov. In addition, our common stock and 7.00% Series D cumulative convertible preferred stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and similar information regarding us and the information we provide to the exchange may be inspected and copied at the offices of The New York Stock Exchange, 11 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005.

        You may also access further information about us by visiting our website at www.are.com. Please note that the information and materials found on our website, except for our SEC filings expressly described below, are not part of this prospectus and are not incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

Incorporation of Documents by Reference

        We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3 with respect to the securities offered by this prospectus. This prospectus is a part of that registration statement. As allowed by the SEC, this prospectus does not contain all of the information you can find in the registration statement or the exhibits to the registration statement. Instead, the SEC allows us to "incorporate by reference"

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information into this prospectus. This means that we can disclose particular important information to you without actually including such information in this prospectus by simply referring you to another document that we filed separately with the SEC.

        The information we incorporate by reference is an important part of this prospectus and should be carefully read in conjunction with this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. Information that we file with the SEC after the date of this prospectus will automatically update and may supersede some of the information in this prospectus as well as information we previously filed with the SEC and that was incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

        The following documents are incorporated by reference into this prospectus:

        If information in any of these incorporated documents conflicts with information in this prospectus, prospectus supplement or any other offering materials, you should rely on the most recent information. If information in an incorporated document conflicts with information in another incorporated document, you should rely on the information in the most recent incorporated document.

        You may request from us at no cost a copy of any document we incorporate by reference, excluding all exhibits to such incorporated documents (unless we have specifically incorporated by reference such exhibits either in this prospectus or in the incorporated document), by making such a request in writing or by telephone to the following address:

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.
385 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 299
Pasadena, California 91101
Attention: Investor Relations
(626) 578-0777

        Except as provided above, no other information (including information on our website) is incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

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PROSPECTUS

LOGO

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

Common Stock   Rights
Preferred Stock   Warrants

Debt Securities

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P.

Guarantees of Debt Securities

        We may issue Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.'s shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock, rights, warrants or debt securities, and we or any selling security holders may offer and sell these securities from time to time in one or more offerings. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P. may guarantee any debt securities that we issue under this prospectus.

        Each time that we or any selling security holders sell securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement or other offering material that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement or other offering material may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement or other offering material, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement or such other offering material.

        We or any selling security holders may sell the securities to or through underwriters, and also to other purchasers or through agents. The names of the underwriters will be stated in the prospectus supplements or other offering material. We also may sell securities directly to investors. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common stock, preferred stock, rights, warrants or debt securities sold by any selling security holder. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P. will not receive any proceeds from issuing guarantees of any debt securities.

        Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ARE." Our 7.00% Series D cumulative convertible preferred stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ARE-D."

        Investing in our securities involves risks. See "Risk Factors" on page 2.

        Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

        The date of this prospectus is December 18, 2017.


Table of Contents


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 
  Page  

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

    1  

RISK FACTORS

    2  

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

    2  

THE COMPANY

    3  

SECURITIES THAT MAY BE OFFERED

    4  

USE OF PROCEEDS

    5  

CONSOLIDATED RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND COMBINED FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS

    5  

DESCRIPTION OF STOCK

    6  

DESCRIPTION OF RIGHTS

    11  

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

    12  

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES AND RELATED GUARANTEES

    13  

DESCRIPTION OF GLOBAL SECURITIES

    19  

PROVISIONS OF MARYLAND LAW AND OF OUR CHARTER AND BYLAWS

    21  

FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

    25  

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

    40  

LEGAL MATTERS

    41  

EXPERTS

    41  

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

    41  

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

        Unless otherwise indicated or unless the context requires otherwise, all references in this prospectus to "we," "us," "our," "our company" or "the company" refer to Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., a Maryland corporation, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, including Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., L.P., a Delaware limited partnership.

        This prospectus is part of a "shelf" registration statement that we have filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). By using a shelf registration statement, we or any selling security holders may sell the common stock, preferred stock, rights, warrants or debt securities and the related guarantees described in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any other offering material:

        If any securities are sold pursuant to this prospectus by any persons other than us, we will, in a prospectus supplement, name the selling security holders, indicate the nature of any relationship such holders have had with us or any of our affiliates during the three years preceding such offering, state the amount of securities of the class owned by such security holder prior to the offering and the amount to be offered for the security holder's account, and state the amount and (if one percent or more) the percentage of the class to be owned by such security holder after completion of the offering.

        Neither this prospectus nor any accompanying prospectus supplement contains all of the information included in the registration statement, as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. To understand fully the terms of the securities we or any selling security holders are offering with this prospectus, you should carefully read this entire prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any other offering material, as well as the documents we have incorporated by reference. We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and therefore file reports and other information with the SEC. Statements contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering material about the provisions or contents of any agreement or other document are only summaries. If SEC rules or regulations require that any agreement or document be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, you should refer to that agreement or document for its complete contents. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any other offering material is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of each document.

        YOU SHOULD CAREFULLY READ THIS PROSPECTUS, THE APPLICABLE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT AND ANY APPLICABLE OTHER OFFERING MATERIAL, AS WELL AS THE DOCUMENTS WE HAVE INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE AS DESCRIBED UNDER THE SECTION ENTITLED "WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION." WE ARE NOT MAKING AN OFFER OF THE SECURITIES OFFERED HEREBY IN ANY STATE WHERE SUCH OFFER OR SALE IS NOT PERMITTED.

        THIS PROSPECTUS MAY NOT BE USED TO SELL SECURITIES UNLESS IT IS ACCOMPANIED BY A PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT OR OTHER OFFERING MATERIAL.

        You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering materials, and the documents we have incorporated by reference. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information provided by this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement, our other offering materials or the documents we have incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the respective document.

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RISK FACTORS

        Investment in any securities offered pursuant to this prospectus involves risks. Before acquiring any offered securities pursuant to this prospectus, you should carefully consider the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or in any accompanying prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, the risk factors incorporated by reference to our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act, and the risk factors and other information contained in the applicable accompanying prospectus supplement before acquiring any of such securities. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or a part of your investment in the offered securities. Please also refer to the section below entitled "Forward-Looking Statements."


WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

Where Documents are Filed; Copies of Documents

        We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act in accordance with which we file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. This registration statement, the exhibits and schedules forming a part thereof, and the reports, proxy statements and other information we have filed with the SEC can be inspected and copied at the Public Reference Room maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Such material also may be accessed by visiting the following internet website maintained by the SEC that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, such as us, that file electronically with the SEC: http://www.sec.gov. In addition, our common stock and 7.00% Series D cumulative convertible preferred stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and similar information regarding us and the information we provide to the exchange may be inspected and copied at the offices of The New York Stock Exchange, 11 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005.

        You may also access further information about us by visiting our website at www.are.com. Please note that the information and materials found on our website, except for our SEC filings expressly described below, are not part of this prospectus and are not incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

Incorporation of Documents by Reference

        We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3 with respect to the securities offered by this prospectus. This prospectus is a part of that registration statement. As allowed by the SEC, this prospectus does not contain all of the information you can find in the registration statement or the exhibits to the registration statement. Instead, the SEC allows us to "incorporate by reference" information into this prospectus. This means that we can disclose particular important information to you without actually including such information in this prospectus by simply referring you to another document that we filed separately with the SEC.

        The information we incorporate by reference is an important part of this prospectus and should be carefully read in conjunction with this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. Information that we file with the SEC after the date of this prospectus will automatically update and may supersede some of the information in this prospectus as well as information we previously filed with the SEC and that was incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

        The following documents are incorporated by reference into this prospectus:

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        If information in any of these incorporated documents conflicts with information in this prospectus, prospectus supplement or any other offering materials, you should rely on the most recent information. If information in an incorporated document conflicts with information in another incorporated document, you should rely on the information in the most recent incorporated document.

        You may request from us at no cost a copy of any document we incorporate by reference, excluding all exhibits to such incorporated documents (unless we have specifically incorporated by reference such exhibits either in this prospectus or in the incorporated document), by making such a request in writing or by telephone to the following address:

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.
385 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 299
Pasadena, California 91101
Attention: Investor Relations
(626) 578-0777

        Except as provided above, no other information (including information on our website) is incorporated by reference into this prospectus.


THE COMPANY

        Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. is a Maryland corporation formed in October 1994 that has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") for federal income tax purposes. We are an S&P 500® urban office REIT uniquely focused on collaborative life science and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations with a total market capitalization of $16.1 billion and an asset base in North America of 28.6 million square feet as of September 30, 2017. The asset base in North America includes 20.6 million rentable square feet ("RSF") of operating properties, including 1.5 million RSF of development and redevelopment of new Class A properties currently undergoing construction. Additionally, the asset base in North America includes 8.0 million square feet of future development projects, including 1.1 million square feet of near-term projects undergoing marketing for lease and pre-construction activities and 3.3 million square feet of intermediate-term development

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projects. Founded in 1994, we pioneered this niche and have since established a significant market presence in key locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle Park. We are known for our high-quality and diverse tenant base, with approximately 50% of our annual rental revenue as of September 30, 2017 generated from investment-grade tenants. We have a longstanding and proven track record of developing Class A properties clustered in urban life science and technology campuses that provide our innovative tenants with highly dynamic and collaborative environments that enhance their ability to successfully recruit and retain world-class talent and inspire productivity, efficiency, creativity, and success. We believe these advantages result in higher occupancy levels, longer lease terms, higher rental income, higher returns, and greater long-term asset value.

        Our primary business objective is to maximize stockholder value by providing our stockholders with the greatest possible total return and long-term asset value based on a multifaceted platform of internal and external growth. A key element of our strategy is our unique focus on Class A properties clustered in urban campuses. These key urban campus locations are characterized by high barriers to entry for new landlords, high barriers to exit for tenants, and a limited supply of available space. They represent highly desirable locations for tenancy by life science and technology entities because of their close proximity to concentrations of specialized skills, knowledge, institutions, and related businesses. Our strategy also includes drawing upon our deep and broad real estate, life science, and technology relationships in order to identify and attract new and leading tenants and to source additional value-creation real estate.

        Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P. is a Delaware limited partnership of which our wholly owned subsidiary, ARE-QRS Corp., is the sole general partner. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. and ARE-QRS Corp. together hold all of the limited partnership interests in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P. We directly or indirectly hold a majority of our interests in our properties and land, and conduct most of our operations, through Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P. and its subsidiaries.

        For additional information regarding our business, we refer you to our filings with the SEC incorporated by reference in this prospectus. See "Where You Can Find More Information."

        Our principal executive offices are located at 385 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 299, Pasadena, California 91101 and our telephone number is (626) 578-0777.


SECURITIES THAT MAY BE OFFERED

        We or any selling security holder may offer and sell from time to time, at prices determined by negotiation, "at-the-market" or otherwise, as described by the applicable prospectus or other offering material, in one or more offerings, the following securities:

        The descriptions of the securities contained in this prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material, summarize all the material terms and provisions of the various types of securities that we or any selling security holder may offer under this prospectus. The particular terms of the securities offered by this prospectus will be described in a prospectus supplement or other offering material.

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        This prospectus contains a summary of the material general terms of the various securities that we or any selling security holder may offer. The specific terms of the securities will be described in a prospectus supplement or other offering material, which may be in addition to or different from the general terms summarized in this prospectus. The summaries contained in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplements or other offering material may not contain all of the information that you would find useful. Accordingly, you should read the actual documents relating to any securities sold pursuant to this prospectus. See "Where You Can Find More Information" to find out how you can obtain a copy of those documents.

        The terms of any offering of securities, the initial offering price of any such offering and the net proceeds to us, will be contained in the prospectus supplement or other offering material relating to that offering.


USE OF PROCEEDS

        Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material, we will use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities to reduce the outstanding balance on our unsecured senior line of credit or other borrowings or for general corporate purposes. If initially used to pay down our unsecured senior line of credit, we may then borrow from time to time under our unsecured senior line of credit to fund potential future acquisitions, to repay debt, or for general working capital and other corporate purposes, including the selective development, redevelopment or acquisition of properties, or the repurchase of our outstanding preferred stock.

        We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the securities to which this prospectus relates that are offered by any selling security holders.


CONSOLIDATED RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND COMBINED FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS

        The following table sets forth the consolidated ratios of earnings to fixed charges and the consolidated ratios of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the periods shown. The ratios of earnings to fixed charges were computed by dividing our earnings by our fixed charges. For this purpose, earnings consist of income from continuing operations before noncontrolling interests and interest expense less noncontrolling interests in income of subsidiaries that have not incurred fixed charges. Fixed charges consist of interest incurred (including amortization of deferred financing costs and capitalized interest).

 
  Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
2017
  Year Ended December 31,  
 
  2016   2015   2014   2013   2012  

Consolidated Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

    1.50 (a)   0.26 (b)   1.75 (c)   1.42 (d)   1.61     1.26 (e)

Consolidated Ratio of Earnings to Combined Fixed Charges and Preferred Stock Dividends

    1.33 (a)   0.17 (b)   1.48 (c)   1.17 (d)   1.34     1.00 (e)

(a)
Ratios for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, include the effect of losses on early extinguishment of debt aggregating $670 thousand, a preferred stock redemption charge of $11.3 million, and impairment of real estate of $203 thousand. Excluding the impact of losses on early extinguishment of debt, the preferred stock redemption charge, and the impairment of real estate, the consolidated ratio of earnings to fixed charges and the consolidated ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, were 1.51 and 1.44, respectively.

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(b)
Fixed charges and combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends exceeded earnings by $118.2 million and $199.7 million, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2016. Ratios for the year ended December 31, 2016, include the effect of losses on early extinguishment of debt aggregating $3.2 million, a preferred stock redemption charge of $61.3 million, and impairment of real estate of $209.3 million. Excluding the impact of losses on early extinguishment of debt, the preferred stock redemption charge, and the impairment of real estate, the consolidated ratio of earnings to fixed charges and the consolidated ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the year ended December 31, 2016, were 1.59 and 1.41, respectively.

(c)
Ratios for the year ended December 31, 2015, include the effect of losses on early extinguishment of debt of $189 thousand and impairment of real estate of $23.3 million. Excluding the impact of losses on early extinguishment of debt and the impairment of real estate, the consolidated ratio of earnings to fixed charges and the consolidated ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the year ended December 31, 2015, were 1.91 and 1.62, respectively.

(d)
Ratios for the year ended December 31, 2014, include the effect of losses on early extinguishment of debt aggregating $525 thousand, a preferred stock redemption charge of $2.0 million, impairment of land parcel of $24.7 million, and impairment of real estate of $27.0 million. Excluding the impact of losses on early extinguishment of debt, the preferred stock redemption charge, the impairment of land parcel, and the impairment of real estate, the consolidated ratio of earnings to fixed charges and the consolidated ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the year ended December 31, 2014, were 1.83 and 1.52, respectively.

(e)
Ratios for the year ended December 31, 2012, include the effect of losses on early extinguishment of debt aggregating $2.2 million, a preferred stock redemption charge of $6.0 million, impairment of land parcel of $2.1 million, and impairment of real estate of $11.4 million. Excluding the impact of losses on early extinguishment of debt, the preferred stock redemption charge, the impairment of land parcel, and the impairment of real estate, the consolidated ratio of earnings to fixed charges and the consolidated ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the year ended December 31, 2012, were 1.42 and 1.13, respectively.


DESCRIPTION OF STOCK

        The following summary of the terms of our stock does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Maryland General Corporation Law, our charter and our bylaws.

General

        Our charter provides that we may issue up to

        Of our preferred stock,

        As of December 15, 2017, the following securities were issued and outstanding:

        Under Maryland law, stockholders generally are not liable for a corporation's debts or obligations.

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Common Stock

        Subject to the preferential rights of any other class or series of our stock and to the provisions of our charter regarding restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends on such shares if, as and when authorized by our board of directors and declared by us out of assets legally available therefor. Our holders of common stock are also entitled to share ratably in our assets legally available for distribution to our stockholders in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up after payment of or adequate provision for all our known debts and liabilities.

        Subject to the provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock, each outstanding share of common stock entitles the holder thereof to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, including the election of directors, and, except as provided with respect to any other class or series of our stock, the holders of such shares will possess the exclusive voting power. In uncontested elections of directors, the affirmative vote of a majority of the total votes cast "for" or "against," or withheld as to a director nominee is sufficient to elect such director nominee. In contested elections, a plurality of votes cast is required for the election of a director. There is no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which means that the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock can elect all of the directors then standing for election, and the holders of the remaining shares will not be able to elect any directors.

        Holders of shares of our common stock generally have no preference, conversion, exchange, sinking fund or appraisal rights and have no preemptive rights to subscribe for any of our securities. Subject to the provisions of our charter regarding restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock, shares of our common stock will each have equal distribution, liquidation and other rights.

        Our charter authorizes our board of directors to reclassify any unissued shares of our common stock into other classes or series of classes of stock and to establish the number of shares in each class or series and to set the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms and conditions of redemption for each such class or series. Thus, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of common stock or preferred stock with terms and conditions which could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest.

        Our outstanding shares of common stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ARE." Any additional shares of common stock we issue will also be listed on the New York Stock Exchange upon official notice of issuance.

Preferred Stock

        Our charter authorizes our board of directors, without the approval of our stockholders, to classify any unissued shares of preferred stock and to reclassify any previously classified but unissued shares of preferred stock of any series. Prior to the issuance of shares of any series, our board of directors is required by the Maryland General Corporation Law and our charter to set, subject to the provisions of our charter regarding restrictions on transfer of our stock, the terms, preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications or terms or conditions of redemption for each such series, all of which will be set forth in articles supplementary to our charter adopted for that purpose by our board of directors or a duly authorized special committee thereof. Using this authority, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock with terms and conditions that could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or for other reasons be desired by them.

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        Upon issuance against full payment of the purchase price therefor, shares of preferred stock will be fully paid and nonassessable. The specific terms of a particular class or series of preferred stock to be offered pursuant to this prospectus will be described in the prospectus supplement or other offering material relating to that class or series, including a prospectus supplement or other offering material providing that preferred stock may be issuable upon the exercise of warrants or conversion of other securities issued by us. The description of preferred stock set forth below and the description of the terms of a particular class or series of preferred stock set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the articles supplementary relating to that class or series.

        Rank.    Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material, our preferred stock will, with respect to dividend rights and rights upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, rank:

        Conversion Right.    The terms and conditions, if any, upon which any shares of any class or series of our preferred stock are convertible into shares of our common stock will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material relating thereto. Such terms will include:

        Series D Preferred Stock.    The dividends on our Series D preferred stock are cumulative and accrue from the date of original issuance. We pay dividends quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of $1.75 per share. Our Series D preferred stock has no stated maturity, is not subject to any sinking fund or mandatory redemption provisions and we are not allowed to redeem our Series D preferred stock, except to preserve our status as a REIT. Investors in our Series D preferred stock generally have no voting rights. We may, at our option, cause some or all of our Series D preferred stock to be automatically converted into shares of our common stock if the closing sale price per share of our common stock equals or exceeds 150% of the then-applicable conversion price of the Series D preferred stock for at least 20 trading days in a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the trading day immediately prior to our issuance of a press release announcing the exercise of our

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conversion option. Holders of our Series D preferred stock, at their option, may, at any time and from time to time, convert some or all of their outstanding shares into shares of our common stock at an applicable conversion rate, which is subject to adjustments for certain events, including, but not limited to certain dividends on our common stock in excess of $0.78 per share per quarter and dividends on our common stock payable in shares of our common stock. The foregoing summary of our Series D preferred stock is qualified in its entirety by reference to the description of our Series D preferred stock contained in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on December 16, 2015, a copy of which is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. As of September 30, 2017, the conversion rate for the Series D preferred stock was 0.2487 shares of our common stock per $25.00 liquidation preference, which was equivalent to a conversion price of approximately $100.52 per share of common stock.

Power to Issue Additional Shares of Common Stock and Preferred Stock

        We believe that the power of our board of directors to authorize us to issue additional authorized but unissued shares of common stock or preferred stock and to classify or reclassify unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock and thereafter to cause us to issue such classified or reclassified shares of stock will provide us with increased flexibility in structuring possible future financing and acquisition transactions and in meeting other needs that may arise. The additional classes or series of our preferred stock, as well as our common stock, will be available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless further action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities may be listed or traded. Although our board of directors has no present intention to do so, it could authorize us to issue a class or series of stock that could, depending upon the terms of such class or series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for holders of common stock or for other reasons be desired by them.

Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer

        In order to qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), not more than 50% of the value of our outstanding stock may be owned, directly or constructively, by five or fewer individuals or certain tax-exempt entities (as set forth in the Code) during the last half of a taxable year (other than the first year for which an election to be a REIT has been made). Furthermore, shares of our outstanding stock must be beneficially owned by 100 or more persons during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months (other than the first year for which an election to be a REIT has been made) or during a proportionate part of a shorter taxable year.

        In order for us to maintain our qualification as a REIT, among other purposes, our charter provides for an ownership limit, which prohibits, with certain exceptions, direct or constructive ownership of shares of stock representing more than 9.8% of the combined total value of our outstanding shares of stock by any person, as defined in our charter.

        Our board of directors, in its sole discretion, may waive the ownership limit for any person. However, our board of directors may not grant such waiver if, after giving effect to such waiver, five individuals could beneficially own, in the aggregate, more than 49.9% of the value of our outstanding stock. As a condition to waiving the ownership limit, our board of directors may require a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") or an opinion of counsel in order to determine our status as a REIT. Notwithstanding the receipt of any such ruling or opinion, our board of directors may impose such conditions or restrictions as it deems appropriate in connection with granting a waiver.

        Our charter further prohibits any person from:

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        Any transfer in violation of any of these restrictions is void ab initio. Any person who acquires or attempts to acquire beneficial or constructive ownership of shares of our stock in violation of the foregoing restrictions on ownership and transfer is required to give us notice immediately and provide us with such other information as we may request in order to determine the effect of such transfer on our status as a REIT. The foregoing restrictions on ownership and transfer will not apply if our board of directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify, or to attempt to qualify, as a REIT.

        If any transfer of shares of our stock or other event occurs that would result in any person beneficially or constructively becoming the owner of shares of our stock in excess or in violation of the above ownership or transfer limitations, or becoming a prohibited owner, then that number of shares of our stock (rounded up to the nearest whole share) the beneficial or constructive ownership of which otherwise would cause such person to violate such limitations shall be automatically exchanged for an equal number of shares of excess stock. Those shares of excess stock will be automatically transferred to a trust for the exclusive benefit of one or more charitable beneficiaries, and the prohibited owner will generally not acquire any rights in such shares. This automatic exchange will be deemed to be effective as of the close of business on the business day prior to the date of such violative transfer. Shares of excess stock held in the trust will be issued and outstanding shares of our stock. The prohibited owner will not:

        The trustee of the trust will have all voting rights and rights to dividends or other distributions with respect to shares of stock held in the trust, which rights shall be exercised for the exclusive benefit of the charitable beneficiary. Any dividend or other distribution paid prior to the discovery by us that shares of stock have been transferred to the trustee will be paid by the recipient of such dividend or distribution to us upon demand, or, at our sole election, will be offset against any future dividends or distributions payable to the purported transferee or holder, and any dividend or distribution authorized but unpaid will be rescinded as void ab initio with respect to such shares of stock and promptly thereafter paid over to the trustee with respect to such shares of excess stock, as trustee of the trust for the exclusive benefit of the charitable beneficiary. The prohibited owner will have no voting rights with respect to shares of excess stock held in the trust and, subject to Maryland law, effective as of the date that such shares of stock have been transferred to the trustee, the trustee will have the authority (at the trustee's sole discretion) to:

However, if we have already taken irreversible corporate action, then the trustee will not have the authority to rescind and recast such vote.

        Within 180 days after the date of the event that resulted in shares of our excess stock being transferred to the trust (or as soon as possible thereafter if the trustee did not learn of such event within such period), the trustee shall sell the shares of stock held in the trust to a person, designated by the trustee, whose ownership of the shares will not violate the ownership and transfer limitations set

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forth in our charter. Upon such sale, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the shares sold will terminate and those shares of excess stock will be automatically exchanged for an equal number of shares of the same class or series of stock that originally were exchanged for the excess stock.

        The trustee shall distribute to the prohibited owner, as appropriate:

        If such shares are sold by a prohibited owner, then to the extent that the prohibited owner received an amount for such shares that exceeds the amount that such prohibited owner was entitled to receive pursuant to the aforementioned requirement, such excess shall be paid to the trustee.

        All certificates representing shares of common stock and preferred stock will bear a legend referring to the restrictions described above.

        Every owner of more than 5% (or such lower percentage as may be required by our charter, the Code or the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder) of all classes or series of our stock, including shares of common stock, within 30 days after the end of each taxable year, is required to give written notice to us stating the name and address of such owner, the number of shares of each class and series of our stock which the owner beneficially owns and a description of the manner in which such shares are held. Each such owner must provide us such additional information as we may reasonably request in order to determine the effect, if any, of such beneficial ownership on our status as a REIT. In addition, each stockholder will be required upon demand to provide us such information as we may reasonably request in order to determine our status as a REIT, to comply with the requirements of any taxing authority or governmental authority or to determine such compliance, or to comply with the REIT provisions of the Code.

        These ownership limits could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for the holders of our common stock or might otherwise be desired by such holders.


DESCRIPTION OF RIGHTS

        We may issue rights to purchase our common stock, preferred stock or other offered security independently or together with any other offered security. Any rights that we may issue may or may not be transferable by the person purchasing or receiving the rights. In connection with any rights offering to our stockholders, we may enter into a standby underwriting or other arrangement with one or more underwriters or other persons pursuant to which such underwriters or other person would purchase any offered securities remaining unsubscribed for after such rights offering. Each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agent agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as rights agent, that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement. The rights agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the certificates relating to the rights and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of rights.

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        The applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material will describe the specific terms of any offering of rights for which this prospectus is being delivered, including the following to the extent applicable:

        The description in the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material of any rights that we may offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable rights certificate, which will be filed with the SEC.


DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

        We may issue warrants to purchase shares of our preferred stock, common stock or our debt securities. Warrants may be issued independently or together with any other securities offered by any prospectus supplement or other offering material and may be attached to or separate from such securities. Each series of warrants may be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a warrant agent specified in the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants of such series and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any provisions of the warrants offered hereby.

        The applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material will describe the terms of the warrants in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered, including, where applicable, the following:

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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES AND RELATED GUARANTEES

        This prospectus describes certain general terms and provisions of our debt securities. When we offer to sell a particular series of debt securities, we will describe the specific terms of the series in a prospectus supplement, a pricing supplement or other offering materials. We will also indicate in the prospectus supplement or other offering materials whether the general terms and provisions described in this prospectus apply to a particular series of debt securities. We may issue our debt securities under one or more indentures. Each indenture and the instruments evidencing the debt securities of each series will be in the form filed or incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement containing this prospectus, a post-effective amendment to the registration statement or a document incorporated by reference herein and, in each case, may be obtained as described below under "Where You Can Find More Information." The form of indenture is subject to any amendments or supplements that may be adopted from time to time.

        We will enter into each indenture with a trustee and the trustee for each indenture may be the same. Each indenture will be subject to, and governed by, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended. Unless otherwise expressly stated in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will be issued under an indenture among us, Alexandria Real Estate, L.P., as guarantor, and Branch Banking and Trust Company, as trustee. A copy of the form of indenture has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement containing this prospectus. Because this description of debt securities is a summary, it does not contain all the information that may be important to you and this description is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, the form of the applicable indenture and the instrument evidencing the debt securities of the applicable series. You should read the applicable indenture and the instrument evidencing the applicable debt securities in their entirety to assure that you have all the important information you need to make any required decisions.

General

        We may issue debt securities from time to time in one or more series without limitation as to aggregate principal amount. The debt securities will be our direct obligations and they may be secured or unsecured, senior or subordinated indebtedness.

        Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement or other offering material, principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the debt securities will be payable, and the transfer of debt securities will be registrable, at any office or agency maintained by us for that purpose. The debt securities will be issued only in fully registered form without coupons and, unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material, in denominations of $1,000 or integral multiples thereof. No service charge will be made for any registration of transfer or exchange of the debt securities, but we may require you to pay a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge imposed in connection with the transfer or exchange.

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        The prospectus supplement or other offering material will describe the following terms of the debt securities we are offering:

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        We may offer and sell the debt securities as original issue discount securities at a substantial discount below their stated principal amount. The prospectus supplement or other offering material will describe the federal income tax consequences and other special considerations applicable to original issue discount securities and any debt securities the federal tax laws treat as having been issued with original issue discount. "Original issue discount securities" means any debt security that provides for an amount less than its principal amount to be due and payable upon the declaration of acceleration of the maturity of the debt security upon the occurrence and continuation of an "Event of Default."

        The indenture does not contain covenants or other provisions designed to afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event of a highly leveraged transaction, change in credit rating or similar occurrence. However, no assurances can be provided that the applicable indenture for any particular series of debt securities will not contain such covenants.

Guarantees of the Debt Securities

        Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P. may fully and unconditionally guarantee the due and punctual payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on one or more series of such debt securities, whether at maturity, by acceleration, redemption or repayment or otherwise, in accordance with the terms of the applicable guarantee and the applicable indenture.

Covenants

        The prospectus supplement or other offering material will describe any material covenants of a series of debt securities.

Events of Default

        With respect to a series of debt securities, any one of the following events will constitute an event of default under the indenture:

        If any event of default occurs and continues, either the trustee by written notice to us or the holders of at least 25 percent in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series by written notice to us may declare the principal amount or, if the debt securities of that series are

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original issue discount securities, the portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of those debt securities, of all the debt securities of that series to be due and payable immediately by a notice in writing to us, and to the trustee if given by holders. The principal amount (or specified amount) will then be immediately due and payable. After acceleration, but before a judgment or decree for payment based on acceleration has been obtained, the holders of a majority in principal amount of outstanding debt securities of that series may by written notice to us and the trustee, under specified circumstances, rescind and annul the acceleration.

        Additional or different events of default applicable to a series of debt securities may be described in a prospectus supplement or other offering material. An event of default of one series of debt securities is not necessarily an event of default for any other series of debt securities. The prospectus supplement or other offering material relating to any series of debt securities that are original issue discount securities will contain the particular provisions relating to acceleration of the stated maturity of a portion of the principal amount of that series of original issue discount securities upon the occurrence and continuation of an event of default.

        The indenture in part provides that, subject to the duty of the trustee during default to act with the required standard of care, the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under the indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders, unless the holders offer the trustee security or indemnity satisfactory to it. Generally, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee.

        A holder of any series of debt securities will not have any right to institute any proceeding with respect to the indenture, or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any other remedy, unless:

However, these limitations do not apply to a suit instituted by a holder for enforcement of payment of the principal of and premium, if any, or interest on its debt securities on or after the respective due dates.

        We are required to furnish to the trustee annually a statement as to our performance of certain obligations under the indenture and as to any default.

Modification and Waiver

        We and the trustee may modify and amend the indenture with the consent of the holders of not less than the majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series

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which is affected. Neither we nor the trustee may, however, modify or amend the indenture without the consent of the holders of all debt securities affected if such action would:

        The holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may, on behalf of all holders of that series, waive compliance by us with certain restrictive provisions of the indenture. The holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may, on behalf of all holders of that series, waive any past default under the indenture, except a default:

Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets

        We, and any guarantor, may not consolidate with or merge into any other company or entity or convey, transfer or lease its properties and assets substantially as an entirety and may not permit any company or entity to merge into or consolidate with us or any guarantor or convey, transfer or lease its properties and assets substantially as an entirety to us or any guarantor, unless:

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Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance

        The indenture provides that if the provisions described below are made applicable to a particular series of debt securities, then, at our option, we:

in each case, if we deposit, in trust, with the trustee, money or United States Government obligations, which through the payment of interest and principal in accordance with their terms will provide money, in an amount sufficient to pay all the principal of and premium, if any, and interest on the debt securities of that series on the dates such payments are due, which may include one or more redemption dates that we designate, in accordance with the terms of the debt securities of that series.

        We may establish this trust only if, among other things:

        If we fail to comply with remaining obligations under the indenture after a defeasance of the indenture with respect to the debt securities of any series as described under the second item of the first sentence of this section and the debt securities of such series are declared due and payable because of the occurrence of any event of default, the amount of money and United States Government obligations on deposit with the trustee may be insufficient to pay amounts due on the debt

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securities of that series at the time of the acceleration resulting from the event of default. We will, however, remain liable for those payments.


DESCRIPTION OF GLOBAL SECURITIES

Book-Entry, Delivery and Form

        The common stock, preferred stock, rights, warrants or debt securities may be issued in book-entry form and represented by one or more global notes or global securities. The global securities are expected to be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company ("DTC"), New York, New York, as depositary, and registered in the name of Cede & Co. (DTC's partnership nominee) or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. Unless and until it is exchanged for individual certificates evidencing securities under the limited circumstances described below, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary to its nominee or by the nominee to the depositary, or by the depositary or its nominee to a successor depositary or to a nominee of the successor depositary.

        DTC, the world's largest securities depository, is:

        DTC holds and provides asset servicing for over 3.5 million issues of U.S. and non-U.S. equity issues, corporate and municipal debt issues and money market instruments (from over 100 countries) that DTC's participants ("direct participants") deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the post-trade settlement among its direct participants of sales and other securities transactions in deposited securities, through electronic computerized book-entry transfers and pledges between direct participants' accounts, which eliminates the need for physical movement of securities certificates. Direct participants include both U.S. and non-U.S. securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations. DTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation ("DTCC"). DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries. Access to the DTC system is also available to others, which we sometimes refer to as "indirect participants," such as both U.S. and non-U.S. securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies and clearing corporations that clear transactions through or maintain a custodial relationship with a direct participant, either directly or indirectly. The rules applicable to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC. More information about DTC can be found at www.dtcc.com. Information contained in this website is not incorporated by reference in, and should not be considered a part of, this prospectus.

        Purchases of securities within the DTC system must be made by or through direct participants, which will receive a credit for those securities on DTC's records. The ownership interest of the actual purchaser of a security, which is sometimes referred to as a "beneficial owner," is in turn recorded on the direct and indirect participants' records. Beneficial owners of securities will not receive written confirmation from DTC of their purchases. However, beneficial owners are expected to receive written confirmations providing details of their transactions, as well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the direct or indirect participants through which they entered into the transactions. Transfers of ownership interests in global securities are to be accomplished by entries made on the books of

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participants acting on behalf of beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in the global securities except under the limited circumstances described below.

        To facilitate subsequent transfers, all global securities deposited by direct participants with DTC will be registered in the name of DTC's partnership nominee, Cede & Co., or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. The deposit of securities with DTC and their registration in the name of Cede & Co. or such other DTC nominee do not effect any change in beneficial ownership. DTC has no knowledge of the actual beneficial owners of the securities. DTC's records reflect only the identity of the direct participants to whose accounts the securities are credited, which may or may not be the beneficial owners. The participants will remain responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.

        So long as the securities are in book-entry form, you will receive any payments and may transfer securities only through the facilities of the depositary and its direct and indirect participants.

        Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to direct participants, by direct participants to indirect participants and by direct participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time. Redemption notices will be sent to DTC. If less than all of the securities within an issue are being redeemed, DTC's practice is to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each direct participant in such issue to be redeemed in accordance with DTC's procedures.

        Neither DTC nor Cede & Co. (nor any other DTC nominee) will consent or vote with respect to securities unless authorized by a direct participant in accordance with DTC's applicable procedures. Under its usual procedures, DTC will mail an omnibus proxy to us as soon as possible after the record date. The omnibus proxy assigns the consenting or voting rights of Cede & Co. to those direct participants to whose accounts the securities of such series are credited on the record date (identified in a listing attached to the omnibus proxy).

        So long as securities are in book-entry form, we will make payments on securities to the depositary or its nominee, as the registered owner of such securities, by wire transfer of immediately available funds. Unless otherwise specified in our prospectus supplement, if securities are issued in definitive certificated form under the limited circumstances described below, we will have the option of paying interest by check mailed to the addresses of the persons entitled to payment or by wire transfer to bank accounts in the United States designated in writing to the applicable trustee at least 15 days before the applicable payment date by the persons entitled to payment.

        Principal and interest payments, redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments on the securities will be made to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. DTC's practice is to credit direct participants' accounts upon DTC's receipt of funds and corresponding detail information from us or our agent, if any, on the payable date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC's records. Payments by direct and indirect participants to beneficial owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the account of customers in bearer form or registered in "street name." Those payments will be the responsibility of participants and not of DTC, our agent, if any, or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time. Payment of principal and interest, redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments to Cede & Co. (or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC) will be our responsibility or the responsibility of our agent, if any, disbursement of such payments to direct participants will be the responsibility of DTC and disbursement of such payments to the beneficial owners will be the responsibility of direct and indirect participants.

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        Except under the limited circumstances described below, purchasers of securities will not be entitled to have securities registered in their names and will not receive physical delivery of securities. Accordingly, each purchaser of securities must rely on the procedures of DTC and its participants to exercise any rights under the securities and the applicable indenture.

        The laws of some jurisdictions may require that some purchasers of securities take physical delivery of securities in definitive form. Those laws may impair the ability to transfer or pledge beneficial interests in securities.

        DTC is under no obligation to provide its services as depositary for the securities and may discontinue providing its services at any time by giving reasonable notice to us or our agent, if any. Neither we nor the trustee will have any responsibility for the performance by DTC or its direct participants or indirect participants under the rules and procedures governing DTC.

        As noted above, each purchaser of securities generally will not receive certificates representing those securities. However, we will prepare and deliver certificates for such securities in exchange for the securities evidenced by the global securities if:

        Any interest in a global security that is exchangeable under the circumstances described above will be exchangeable for securities in definitive certificated form registered in the names that the depositary directs. It is expected that these directions will be based upon directions received by the depositary from its participants with respect to ownership of securities evidenced by the global securities.

        The information in this section concerning DTC and DTC's book-entry system has been obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we take no responsibility for the accuracy thereof.


PROVISIONS OF MARYLAND LAW AND OF OUR CHARTER AND BYLAWS

        The following summary of certain provisions of Maryland General Corporation Law and of our charter and bylaws does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to Maryland General Corporation Law and our charter and bylaws.

Board of Directors

        Our bylaws provide that the number of our directors may be established by our board of directors, but may not be fewer than the minimum number required by the Maryland General Corporation Law, which is one, nor more than 15. All directors are elected to serve until the next annual meeting of our stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualify.

        Our charter and bylaws provide that our stockholders may remove any director by a vote of not less than two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Our charter and bylaws further provide that our board of directors may fill board vacancies and that any director elected to fill a vacancy may hold office for the remainder of the full term of the class of directors in which the vacancy occurred. Holders of shares of common stock will have no right to cumulative voting in the

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election of directors. Consequently, at each annual meeting of stockholders, the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock will be able to elect all of the directors then standing for election.

Business Combinations

        Under the Maryland General Corporation Law, specified "business combinations" (including a merger, consolidation, share exchange or, in specified circumstances, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities) between a Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the 10% or more beneficial owner acquires such status. An interested stockholder is defined as:

        A person is not an interested stockholder under the statute if the board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which he otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. In approving a transaction, the board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by the board.

        After the five year period, any such business combination between the Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder must be recommended by the board of directors of such corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:

        These super-majority vote requirements do not apply if the corporation's common stockholders receive "a minimum price" (as defined in the Maryland General Corporation Law) for their shares; and the consideration is received in cash or in the same form as previously paid by the 10% or more beneficial owner for its shares.

        These provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law do not apply, however, to business combinations that are approved or exempted by the board of directors of the corporation prior to the time before the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Our board of directors has adopted a resolution providing that the "business combination" provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law shall not apply to us generally and that such resolution is irrevocable unless revocation, in whole or in part, is approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock, but revocation will not affect any business combination consummated, or any business combination contemplated by any agreement entered into, prior to the revocation. As a result of the foregoing, any person who becomes a 10% or more beneficial owner may be able to enter into business combinations with us that may not be in the best interest of the stockholders, without our compliance with the business combination provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law.

Control Share Acquisitions

        The Maryland General Corporation Law provides that control shares of a Maryland corporation acquired in a control share acquisition have no voting rights except to the extent approved by the affirmative vote of holders of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding shares

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of stock owned by the acquiror, by officers or by directors who are employees of the corporation. Control shares are voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other such shares of stock previously acquired by the acquiror or in respect of which the acquiror is able to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), would entitle the acquiror to exercise voting power in electing directors within one of the following ranges of voting power:

Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A control share acquisition means the acquisition of control shares, subject to specified exceptions.

        Under Maryland law, a person who has made or proposes to make a control share acquisition, upon satisfaction of specified conditions (including an undertaking to pay expenses of the meeting), may compel the board of directors of the corporation to call a special meeting of stockholders to be held within 50 days of demand to consider the voting rights of the shares. If no request for a meeting is made, the corporation may itself present the question at any meeting of the stockholders.

        If voting rights are not approved at the meeting or if the acquiring person does not deliver an acquiring person statement as required by the statute, then, subject to specified conditions and limitations, the corporation may redeem any or all of the control shares (except those for which voting rights have previously been approved) for fair value determined, without regard to the absence of voting rights for the control shares, as of the date of the last control share acquisition by the acquiror or of any meeting of stockholders at which the voting rights of such shares are considered and not approved. If voting rights for control shares are approved at a meeting of the stockholders and the acquiror becomes entitled to vote a majority of the shares entitled to vote, all other stockholders may exercise appraisal rights. The fair value of the shares as determined for purposes of such appraisal rights may not be less than the highest price per share paid by the acquiror in the control share acquisition.

        The control share acquisition statute does not apply (a) to shares acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if the corporation is a party to the transaction, or (b) to acquisitions approved or exempted by the charter or bylaws of the corporation.

        Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the control share acquisition statute any acquisition by any person of shares of our stock. Our board of directors has resolved that, subject to Maryland law, this provision may not be amended or repealed without the approval of holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock. There can be no assurance, however, that the provision will not be amended or eliminated in the future or that the resolution is enforceable under Maryland law.

Advance Notice of Director Nominations and New Business

        Our bylaws provide that:

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Amendment to Our Bylaws

        The board of directors has the exclusive power to adopt, alter, repeal or amend our bylaws.

Extraordinary Actions

        Under the Maryland General Corporation Law, a Maryland corporation generally cannot dissolve, amend its charter, merge, sell all or substantially all of its assets, engage in a share exchange, convert or engage in similar transactions outside the ordinary course of business unless advised by the board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders holding at least two-thirds of the shares entitled to vote on the matter unless a lesser percentage (but not less than a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter) is set forth in the corporation's charter. Our charter provides for approval of such matters by the affirmative vote of a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast thereon. Maryland law permits a corporation to transfer all or substantially all of its assets without the approval of the stockholders of the corporation to one or more persons if all of the equity interests of the person or persons are owned, directly or indirectly, by the corporation. Maryland law also does not require approval of the stockholders of a parent corporation to merge or sell all or substantially all of the assets of a subsidiary entity. Because operating assets may be held by a corporation's subsidiaries, as in our situation, this may mean that a subsidiary may be able to merge or to sell all or substantially all of its assets without a vote of the corporation's stockholders.

Subtitle 8

        Subtitle 8 of Title 3 of the Maryland General Corporation Law permits a Maryland corporation with a class of equity securities registered under the Exchange Act and at least three independent directors to elect to be subject, by provision in its charter or bylaws or a resolution of its board of directors and notwithstanding any contrary provision in the charter or bylaws, to any or all of five provisions:

        Through provisions in our charter and bylaws unrelated to Subtitle 8, we already:

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        We have also elected to be subject to the provisions of Subtitle 8 relating to:

Anti-Takeover Effect of Certain Provisions of Maryland Law, Our Charter and Our Bylaws

        The possible future application of the business combination, the control share acquisition and Subtitle 8 provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law and the current Subtitle 8 elections and advance notice provisions of our bylaws may delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for holders of common stock or for other reasons be desired by them.


FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

        The following discussion summarizes the material U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to our qualification as a REIT and the ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock. Supplemental U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to holders of the securities offered by this prospectus may be provided in the prospectus supplement that relates to those securities. This discussion is based on current provisions of the Code, current and proposed Treasury regulations, administrative decisions and rulings of the IRS and court decisions as of the date hereof, all of which are subject to change (possibly with retroactive effect) and all of which are subject to differing interpretation. This discussion does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to you in light of your particular circumstances or to persons subject to special treatment under the U.S. federal income tax laws. In particular, this discussion deals only with stockholders that hold our common stock as capital assets within the meaning of the Code. Except as expressly provided below, this discussion does not address the tax treatment of special classes of stockholders, including, without limitation, banks, insurance companies, tax-exempt organizations, financial institutions, broker-dealers, persons holding our stock as part of a hedge, straddle or other risk reduction, constructive sale or conversion transaction, U.S. expatriates, persons subject to the alternative minimum tax, foreign corporations, foreign estates or trusts and persons who are not citizens or residents of the United States. This discussion may not be applicable to stockholders who acquired our stock pursuant to the exercise of options or warrants or otherwise as compensation. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any state, local, foreign or non-income tax considerations.

        If a partnership (including, for this purpose, any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is a beneficial owner of our common stock, the U.S. federal income tax consequences to a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. A stockholder that is a partnership, and the partners in such partnership, should consult their own tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal income tax considerations of an investment in our shares.

        THE DISCUSSION SET FORTH BELOW IS NOT INTENDED TO BE, NOR SHOULD IT BE CONSTRUED TO BE, LEGAL OR TAX ADVICE TO ANY PARTICULAR STOCKHOLDER. ACCORDINGLY, YOU SHOULD CONSULT YOUR TAX ADVISORS ABOUT THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAWS TO YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION AS WELL AS APPLICABLE STATE, LOCAL, FOREIGN AND NON-INCOME TAX LAWS.

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Taxation of Our Company

General

        We have elected to be taxed as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Code, commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 1996, and intend to continue to operate in a manner consistent with such election and all rules with which a REIT must comply. Although we believe we are organized and operate in such a manner, we cannot assure you we qualify or will continue to qualify as a REIT. Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Code provisions for which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations. The determination of various factual matters and circumstances not entirely within our control may affect our ability to qualify. If we fail to qualify as a REIT (and we do not qualify for relief under certain provisions of the Code), we will be subject to federal income tax (including any applicable alternative minimum tax) on taxable income at regular corporate rates. In addition, unless entitled to relief under certain statutory provisions, we will be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which qualification is lost. The additional tax would significantly reduce the cash flow available for distributions to stockholders. In addition, we would not be obligated to make distributions to stockholders.

        We have received from Morrison & Foerster LLP its opinion to the effect that, commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2004, we were organized and have operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, and that our proposed method of operation will enable us to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code. It must be emphasized that this opinion is based and conditioned upon certain assumptions and representations made by us as to factual matters (including representations concerning, among other things, our business and properties, the amount of rents attributable to personal property and other items regarding our ability to meet the various requirements for qualification as a REIT). The opinion is expressed as of its date, and Morrison & Foerster LLP has undertaken no obligation to advise holders of our securities of any subsequent change in the matters stated, represented or assumed or any subsequent change in the applicable law. Moreover, qualification and taxation as a REIT depends on our having met and continuing to meet, through actual annual operating results, distribution levels and diversity of stock ownership, the various qualification tests imposed under the Code discussed below, the results of which will not be reviewed by Morrison & Foerster LLP.

        In any year in which we qualify as a REIT, we will not be subject to federal income tax on that portion of our REIT taxable income or capital gain that is distributed to our stockholders, thereby substantially eliminating the "double taxation" of such income or gain (i.e., the taxation of such income or gain at the corporate level and the taxation of any distribution of such income or gain at the stockholder level).

        Notwithstanding our qualification as a REIT, we may be subject to tax under the following circumstances:

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        We will use the calendar year both for federal income tax purposes and for financial reporting purposes. The requirements for our qualification as a REIT and certain additional matters are discussed in greater detail in the subsections that follow.

Share Ownership Test

        Our shares must be held by a minimum of 100 persons for at least 335 days in each taxable year of 12 months or a proportionate number of days in any shorter taxable year. In addition, at all times

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during the second half of each taxable year, no more than 50% in value of our shares may be owned, directly or indirectly, including via application of constructive ownership rules, by five or fewer individuals, including certain tax-exempt entities. Any shares held by a qualified domestic pension or other retirement trust will be treated as held directly by its beneficiaries in proportion to their actuarial interest in such trust. If we comply with applicable Treasury regulations for ascertaining our actual ownership and did not know, or exercising reasonable diligence would not have reason to know, that more than 50% in value of our outstanding shares were held, actually or constructively, by five or fewer individuals, then we will be treated as meeting this share ownership requirement.

        To ensure compliance with the 50% share ownership test, we have placed restrictions on the transfer of our shares to prevent concentration of ownership. Moreover, to evidence compliance with these requirements, under applicable Treasury regulations we must maintain records that disclose the actual ownership of our outstanding shares. Such regulations impose penalties for failing to do so. In fulfilling our obligation to maintain records, we must and will demand written statements each year from the record holders of designated percentages of our shares disclosing the actual owners of such shares as prescribed by Treasury regulations. A list of those persons failing or refusing to comply with such demand must be maintained as a part of our records. A stockholder failing or refusing to comply with our written demand must submit with his or her tax returns a similar statement disclosing the actual ownership of our shares and other information. In addition, our charter provides restrictions regarding the transfer of shares that are intended to assist us in continuing to satisfy the share ownership requirements. We intend to enforce the percentage limitations on ownership of shares of our stock to ensure that our qualification as a REIT will not be compromised.

Asset Tests

        At the close of each quarter of our taxable year, we must satisfy certain tests relating to the nature of our assets:

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        For purposes of the 10% value test described above:

        We currently hold, and expect to hold in the future, securities of various issuers. While we do not anticipate our securities holdings would result in a violation of the REIT asset tests, fluctuations in value and other circumstances existing from time to time may increase our risk under the asset tests.

        If we meet the asset tests at the close of a quarter, we will not lose our status as a REIT if we fail to satisfy such tests at the end of a subsequent quarter solely by reason of changes in the relative values of our assets (including changes caused solely by the change in the foreign currency exchange rate used to value a foreign asset). If we would fail these tests, in whole or in part, due to an acquisition of securities or other property during a quarter, we can avoid such failure by disposing of sufficient non-qualifying assets within 30 days after the close of such quarter. If we fail the 5% or 10% asset tests at the end of any quarter and do not cure within 30 days, we may still cure such failure or otherwise satisfy the requirements of such tests within six months after the last day of the quarter in which our identification of the failure occurred, provided the non-qualifying assets do not exceed the lesser of 1% of the total value of our assets at the end of the relevant quarter or $10,000,000. If our failure of the 5% and 10% asset tests exceeds this amount or we fail any of the other asset tests and do not cure within 30 days, we may avoid disqualification as a REIT provided (i) the failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, (ii) we file certain reports with the IRS, (iii) we take steps to satisfy the requirements of the applicable asset test within six months after the last day of the quarter in which our identification of the failure occurred, including the disposition of sufficient assets to meet the asset tests, and (iv) we pay a tax equal to the greater of $50,000 or the product of (x) the net income generated by the non-qualifying assets during the period in which we failed to satisfy the relevant asset test and (y) the highest U.S. federal income tax rate then applicable to U.S. corporations.

Gross Income Tests

        Two separate percentage tests related to the sources of our gross income must be satisfied each taxable year.

        First, at least 75% of our gross income (excluding gross income from "prohibited transactions," discussed below) for the taxable year generally must be:

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        Second, in general, at least 95% of our gross income (excluding gross income from "prohibited transactions," discussed below) for the taxable year must be derived from the above-described qualifying income and dividends, interest or gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or other securities that are not dealer property.

        Rents we receive will qualify as "rents from real property" only under the following conditions:

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        Foreign currency gain with respect to income that otherwise qualifies for purposes of the 75% or 95% income test will not constitute gross income for purposes of the 75% or 95% income test, respectively.

        Income from a hedging transaction made (i) to hedge indebtedness incurred or to be incurred by us to acquire or own real estate assets, (ii) primarily to manage the risk of currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that would qualify under the 75% or 95% income tests (or any property which generates such income or gain), or (iii) for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, to hedge the income or loss from prior hedging transactions, where the property or indebtedness which was the subject of the prior hedging transaction was extinguished or disposed of, in each case generally will not constitute gross income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests. Any such hedging transactions must be properly identified.

        For purposes of determining whether we comply with the 75% and 95% gross income tests, gross income also does not include income from "prohibited transactions." A "prohibited transaction" is a sale of property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business, excluding foreclosure property, unless we hold such property for at least two years and other requirements relating to the number of properties sold in a year, their tax bases, and the cost of improvements made to the property are satisfied. See "—Taxation of Our Company—General" for certain tax consequences of prohibited transactions.

        Even if we fail to satisfy one or both of the 75% or 95% gross income tests for any taxable year, we may still qualify as a REIT for such year if we are entitled to relief under certain relief provisions of the Code. These relief provisions generally will be available if:

        If these relief provisions apply, nonetheless we will be subject to a special tax upon the greater of the amount by which we fail either the 75% or 95% gross income test for that year. See "—Taxation of Our Company—General" for a discussion of such tax.

Annual Distribution Requirements

        In order to qualify as a REIT, we are required to make distributions, other than capital gain dividends, to our stockholders each year in an amount at least equal to (i) 90% of our REIT taxable income, computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and REIT net capital gain, plus (ii) 90% of our net income after tax, if any, from foreclosure property, minus (iii) the sum of certain items of excess non-cash income. Such distributions must be made in the taxable year to which they relate, or in the following taxable year if declared before we timely file our tax return for such year and if paid on or before the first regular dividend payment after such declaration.

        To the extent we do not distribute all of our net capital gain or distribute at least 90%, but less than 100%, of our REIT taxable income, as adjusted, we will be subject to tax on the undistributed amount at regular capital gains or ordinary corporate tax rates, as the case may be. We may elect to retain, rather than distribute, our net capital gain and pay tax on such gain. If we make this election, our stockholders would include in their income as long-term capital gains their proportionate share of the undistributed net capital gains as designated by us, and we would have to pay the tax on such gains within 30 days of the close of our taxable year. Each of our stockholders would be deemed to have

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paid such stockholder's share of the tax paid by us on such gains, which tax would be credited or refunded to the stockholder. Each stockholder would increase his tax basis in our shares by the amount of income to the holder resulting from the designation less the holder's credit or refund for the tax paid by us.

        We intend to make timely distributions sufficient to satisfy the annual distribution requirements. It is possible that we may not have sufficient cash or other liquid assets to meet the 90% distribution requirement, due to timing differences between the actual receipt of income and actual payment of expenses on the one hand, and the inclusion of such income and deduction of such expenses in computing our REIT taxable income on the other hand. To avoid any problem with the 90% distribution requirement, we will closely monitor the relationship between our REIT taxable income and cash flow and, if necessary, borrow funds or distribute property in-kind to satisfy the distribution requirements. In addition, from time to time, we may determine to declare dividends payable in cash or stock at the election of each stockholder, subject to a limit on the aggregate cash that could be paid. Any such dividend would be distributed in a manner intended to be treated in full as a taxable dividend that counts toward satisfaction of our annual distribution requirements. While the IRS privately has ruled a distribution of stock pursuant to such an election will be considered a taxable dividend if certain requirements are met, no assurances can be provided that the IRS will not assert a contrary position and that such a distribution will be considered a taxable dividend that qualifies for the dividends paid deduction.

        In order for distributions to count toward the annual distribution requirement applicable to REITs and to provide us with a REIT-level tax deduction, the distributions must not be "preferential dividends" unless such distributions are made in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2014 and we qualify as a "publicly offered REIT." Generally, a distribution is not a preferential dividend if the distribution is (1) pro rata among all outstanding shares within a particular class, and (2) in accordance with the preferences among different classes of stock as set forth in our organizational documents. We believe that we are, and expect we will continue to be, a "publicly offered REIT."

        If we fail to meet the 90% distribution requirement as a result of an adjustment to our tax return by the IRS, or if we determine that we have failed to meet the 90% distribution requirement in a prior taxable year, we may retroactively cure the failure by paying a "deficiency dividend," plus applicable penalties and interest, within a specified period.

        If we fail to distribute during each calendar year at least the sum of (i) 85% of our REIT ordinary income for such year, (ii) 95% of our REIT capital gain net income for such year, other than capital gains we elect to retain and pay tax on and (iii) any undistributed taxable income from prior years, we would be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the excess of such sum over the amounts actually distributed. To the extent we elect to retain and pay income tax on our long-term capital gain, such retained amounts will be treated as having been distributed for purposes of the 4% excise tax.

Absence of Earnings and Profits from Non-REIT Years

        In order to qualify as a REIT, we must not have accumulated earnings and profits attributable to any non-REIT years. A REIT has until the close of its first taxable year in which it has non-REIT earnings and profits to distribute any such accumulated earnings and profits. Unless the "deficiency dividend" procedures described above apply and we comply with those procedures, failure to distribute such accumulated earnings and profits would result in our disqualification as a REIT. We believe that we had no accumulated earnings and profits as of December 31, 1995.

Tax Aspects of Our Investments in Partnerships and Qualified REIT Subsidiaries

        Certain of our investments are held through partnerships or entities treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes. In general, partnerships are "pass-through" entities that are not subject to

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federal income tax. Rather, partners are allocated their proportionate share of the items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit of the partnership and are subject to tax thereon without regard to whether the partners receive a distribution from the partnership. We will include our proportionate share of the foregoing partnership items for purposes of the various REIT gross income tests and in the computation of our REIT taxable income, and we will include our proportionate share of the assets held by each partnership for purposes of the REIT asset tests.

        Certain of our investments are held through wholly-owned subsidiaries that are treated as "qualified REIT subsidiaries." Generally, a qualified REIT subsidiary is a corporation, other than a taxable REIT subsidiary, all of the capital stock of which is owned by the REIT. If a REIT owns a subsidiary that is a qualified REIT subsidiary, the separate existence of that subsidiary is disregarded for federal income tax purposes. All assets, liabilities and items of income, deduction and credit of the qualified REIT subsidiary are treated as assets, liabilities and items of income, deduction and credit of the REIT itself. Our qualified REIT subsidiaries are not subject to federal income tax, and our ownership of the stock of a qualified REIT subsidiary will not violate the restrictions on ownership of securities, as described above under "—Taxation of Our Company—Asset Tests."

Investments in Taxable REIT Subsidiaries

        We and any entity treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes in which we own an interest may jointly elect to treat such entity as a "taxable REIT subsidiary." In addition, if a taxable REIT subsidiary of ours owns, directly or indirectly, securities representing 35% or more of the vote or value of an entity treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes, that subsidiary also will be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary of ours. Taxable REIT subsidiaries are permitted to engage in certain types of activities that cannot be performed directly by REITs without jeopardizing their REIT status.

        Certain of our subsidiaries have elected to be treated as taxable REIT subsidiaries of ours and additional elections may be made in the future. As taxable REIT subsidiaries, these entities will pay federal and state income taxes at the full applicable corporate tax rates on their income prior to the payment of any dividends to us. Our taxable REIT subsidiaries will attempt to minimize the amount of such taxes, but there can be no assurance whether or the extent to which measures taken to minimize taxes will be successful. To the extent a taxable REIT subsidiary is required to pay federal, state or local income taxes, the cash available for distribution by such taxable REIT subsidiary to its stockholders will be reduced accordingly. Taxable REIT subsidiaries are subject to limitations on the deductibility of payments made to the associated REIT, which could materially increase the taxable income of the taxable REIT subsidiary. Further, we will be subject to a tax of 100% on the amount of any rents from real property, deductions, excess interest or services income that is reapportioned between us and any of our taxable REIT subsidiaries to more clearly reflect the income of the taxable REIT subsidiary.

Failure to Qualify

        In the event we fail to satisfy one or more requirements for qualification as a REIT, other than the REIT asset and gross income tests, each of which is subject to the cure provisions described above, we will retain our REIT qualification if (i) the violation is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect and (ii) we pay a penalty of $50,000 for each failure to satisfy the provision.

        If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT in any taxable year and relief provisions do not apply, we will be subject to tax, including applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at regular corporate tax rates. Distributions to stockholders in any year in which we fail to qualify as a REIT will not be deductible by us, nor generally will they be required to be made under the Code. In such event, to the extent of current and accumulated earnings and profits, all distributions to our

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stockholders will be taxable as dividends and, subject to the limitations set forth in the Code, corporate distributees may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction. Unless entitled to relief under specific statutory provisions, we also will be disqualified from re-electing taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which qualification was lost.

Taxation of Our Stockholders

        For purposes of the following discussions, a "domestic stockholder" generally refers to (i) a citizen or resident of the United States; (ii) a corporation (including an entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized under the laws of the United States or of a political subdivision of the United States; (iii) an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or (iv) any trust if (1) a U.S. court is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of such trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (2) it has a valid election in place to be treated as a U.S. person. A "foreign stockholder" generally refers to a person that is not a domestic stockholder.

        If a partnership or an entity treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes holds our stock, the federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. If you are a partner in a partnership holding our common stock, you should consult your own tax advisor regarding the consequences of the ownership and disposition of shares of our stock by the partnership.

Taxation of Taxable Domestic Stockholders

        As long as we qualify as a REIT, distributions made to our taxable domestic stockholders out of current or accumulated earnings and profits, and not designated as capital gain dividends, will be taken into account by them as ordinary dividends and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporations. Generally our ordinary dividends will be taxable to our domestic stockholders as ordinary income. However, such dividends will be taxable to individuals at the rate applicable to long-term capital gains to the extent such dividends are attributable to dividends received by us from non-REIT corporations (e.g., taxable REIT subsidiaries) or are attributable to income upon which we have paid corporate income tax (e.g., to the extent we distribute less than 100% of our taxable income). We do not expect a significant portion of our ordinary dividends to be eligible for taxation at long-term capital gain rates.

        We may designate portions of our distributions as capital gain dividends. Alternatively, we may elect to retain and pay income taxes on capital gains rather than distribute them, in which case stockholders include their proportionate share of such undistributed gain in income, receive a credit for their share of the taxes paid by us and increase their basis in their shares by the amount of income included less the credit or refund. Distributions designated as capital gain dividends and retained net capital gain will be taxed as long-term capital gains to the extent they do not exceed our actual net capital gain for the taxable year, without regard to the period for which a stockholder has held its shares. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, dividends designated as capital gain dividends may not exceed our dividends paid for the taxable year, including dividends paid the following year that are treated as paid in the current year. Corporate stockholders may be required to treat up to 20% of certain capital gain dividends as ordinary income. In addition, net capital gains attributable to the sale by us of depreciable real property held for more than 12 months are taxable to individuals at a 25% maximum federal income tax rate to the extent of previously claimed real property depreciation.

        To the extent we make distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits, these distributions are treated as a return of capital to the stockholder, reducing the tax basis of a

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stockholder's shares by the amount of such distribution, with distributions in excess of the stockholder's tax basis taxable as capital gains.

        Any dividend declared by us in October, November or December of any year and payable to a stockholder of record on a specific date in any such month may be treated as both paid by us and received by the stockholder on December 31 of such year, provided the dividend is actually paid by us during January of the following calendar year. Stockholders may not include in their individual income tax returns any of our net operating losses or capital losses.

        A stockholder will realize capital gain or loss upon the sale or other taxable disposition of our stock equal to the difference between the sum of the fair market value of any property and cash received in such disposition and the stockholder's adjusted tax basis. Such gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if the stockholder has held its shares for more than one year. Capital losses generally are available only to offset capital gains of the stockholder except in the case of individuals, who may offset up to $3,000 of ordinary income each year. In general, any loss upon a sale or exchange of shares by a stockholder who has held such shares for six months or less, after applying certain holding period rules, will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of distributions from us required to be treated by such stockholder as long-term capital gains.

        See "Taxation of Our Stockholders—Tax Rates Applicable to Individual Stockholders" below for a discussion of applicable capital gains rates. Stockholders should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the taxation of capital gains and capital gain dividends and with regard to state, local and foreign taxes on capital gains and other income.

        Distributions by us and gain from the sale or other disposition of our stock will not be treated as passive activity income. As a result, stockholders will not be able to apply any "passive losses" against this income or gain. Dividends from us (to the extent they do not constitute a return of capital) generally will be treated as investment income for purposes of the investment interest limitation. Net capital gain from the disposition of our stock or capital gain dividends generally will be excluded from investment income unless the stockholder elects to have the gain taxed at ordinary income rates.

Taxation of Foreign Stockholders

        As background to this discussion, under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 ("FIRPTA"), a "United States real property interest" ("USRPI") generally refers to interests in U.S. real property and shares of corporations at least 50% of whose assets consist of such interests. However, shares of certain "domestically controlled qualified investment entities" are excluded from USRPI treatment. We will qualify as a domestically controlled qualified investment entity so long as we qualify as a REIT and less than 50% in value of our shares are held by foreign stockholders. We currently anticipate that we will qualify as a domestically controlled qualified investment entity, although no assurance can be given that we will continue to qualify at all times.

        Distributions to foreign stockholders out of our current and accumulated earnings and profits and not attributable to capital gains generally will be a dividend subject to U.S. withholding tax at a rate of 30% unless (i) an applicable tax treaty reduces such rate or (ii) such dividend is effectively connected to a U.S. trade or business conducted by such stockholder. Dividends effectively connected to a U.S. trade or business will be subject to federal income tax in the same manner and at the same rates applicable to domestic stockholders and, with respect to corporate foreign stockholders, may be subject to a 30% branch profits tax. We plan to withhold at the 30% rate unless (i) the foreign stockholder files an IRS Form W-8BEN or, in the case of a foreign entity stockholder, an IRS Form W-8BEN-E with us evidencing the application of a lower treaty rate or (ii) the foreign stockholder files an IRS Form W-8ECI with us claiming the distribution is effectively connected.

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        To the extent distributions not attributable to capital gains exceed current and accumulated earnings and profits, such distributions would not be subject to federal income taxation. If we cannot determine at the time we make a distribution whether or not the distribution will exceed our current and accumulated earnings and profits, we normally will withhold tax on the entire amount of any distribution at the same rate as we would withhold on a dividend. However, a stockholder may obtain a refund of amounts that we withhold if we later determine that a distribution in fact exceeded our current and accumulated earnings and profits.

        Under FIRPTA, distributions attributable to capital gains from the sale or exchange by us of USRPIs are treated as income effectively connected to a U.S. trade or business, are subject to federal income taxation in the same manner and at the same rates applicable to domestic stockholders and, with respect to corporate foreign stockholders, may be subject to a 30% branch profits tax. However, these distributions will not be subject to tax under FIRPTA, and will instead be taxed in the same manner as distributions described above, if:

        Unless you are a "qualified shareholder" or a "qualified foreign pension fund" (both as defined below), we are required by applicable Treasury regulations to withhold 35% of any distribution to a foreign stockholder owning more than 10% of the relevant class of shares that could be designated by us as a capital gain dividend. Any amount so withheld is creditable against the foreign stockholder's FIRPTA tax liability.

        In addition, distributions to certain non-U.S. publicly traded shareholders that meet certain record-keeping and other requirements ("qualified shareholders") are exempt from FIRPTA, except to the extent owners of such qualified shareholders that are not also qualified shareholders own, actually or constructively, more than 10% of our capital stock. Furthermore, distributions to "qualified foreign pension funds" or entities all of the interests of which are held by "qualified foreign pension funds" are exempt from FIRPTA. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the application of these rules.

        Distributions attributable to capital gains from the sale or exchange of non-USRPIs are not subject to federal income taxation.

        Gains from the sale or exchange of our stock by a foreign stockholder will not be subject to federal income taxation, provided we qualify as a domestically controlled qualified investment entity or the stockholder does not own more than 10% of the class of stock sold. For purposes of determining whether a REIT is a "domestically controlled qualified investment entity," a person who at all applicable times holds less than 5% of a class of stock that is "regularly traded" is treated as a U.S. person unless the REIT has actual knowledge that such person is not a U.S. person.

        In addition, dispositions of our capital stock by qualified shareholders are exempt from FIRPTA, except to the extent owners of such qualified shareholders that are not also qualified shareholders own, actually or constructively, more than 10% of our capital stock. An actual or deemed disposition of our capital stock by such qualified shareholders or owners of such qualified shareholders who own 10% or less of our capital stock may also be treated as a dividend. Furthermore, dispositions of our capital stock by "qualified foreign pension funds" or entities all of the interests of which are held by "qualified foreign pension funds" are exempt from FIRPTA. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the application of these rules.

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        Distributions and gains otherwise not subject to taxation under the foregoing rules may be subject to tax to the extent such distributions or gains were effectively connected to the conduct of a foreign stockholder's U.S. trade or business or were made to a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year.

        Common stock owned or treated as owned by an individual who is not a citizen or resident of the United States (as specially defined for U.S. federal estate tax purposes) at the time of death will be includible in the individual's gross estate for U.S. federal estate tax purposes unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise.

        THE FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION OF FOREIGN STOCKHOLDERS IS A HIGHLY COMPLEX MATTER THAT MAY BE AFFECTED BY MANY OTHER CONSIDERATIONS. ACCORDINGLY, FOREIGN STOCKHOLDERS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE INCOME AND WITHHOLDING TAX CONSIDERATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THEIR INVESTMENT IN US.

Taxation of Tax-Exempt Stockholders

        While generally exempt from federal income taxation, tax-exempt entities, including qualified employee pension and profit sharing trusts and individual retirement accounts, are subject to tax on their unrelated business taxable income ("UBTI"). The IRS has issued a revenue ruling in which it held that amounts distributed by a REIT to a tax-exempt employees' pension trust do not constitute UBTI. Subject to the following paragraph, based upon the ruling, the analysis in the ruling and the statutory framework of the Code, distributions by us to a stockholder that is a tax-exempt entity also should not constitute UBTI, provided the tax-exempt entity has not financed the acquisition of its shares with "acquisition indebtedness" (within the meaning of the Code), the shares are not otherwise used in an unrelated trade or business of the tax-exempt entity and, consistent with our present intent, we do not hold a residual interest in a real estate mortgage investment conduit.

        Certain social clubs, voluntary employee benefit associations, supplemental unemployment benefit trusts, and qualified group legal services plans that are exempt from taxation under special provisions of the federal income tax laws are subject to different UBTI rules, which generally will require them to characterize distributions received from us as UBTI. Furthermore, if any pension or other retirement trust that qualifies under Section 401(a) of the Code holds more than 10% by value of the interests in a "pension-held REIT" at any time during a taxable year, a portion of the dividends paid to the qualified pension trust by such REIT may constitute UBTI. For these purposes, a "pension-held REIT" is defined as a REIT that would not have qualified as a REIT but for the provisions of the Code that look through such a qualified pension trust in determining ownership of stock of the REIT and at least one qualified pension trust holds more than 25% by value of the interests of such REIT or one or more qualified pension trusts, each owning more than a 10% interest by value in the REIT, hold in the aggregate more than 50% by value of the interests in such REIT. We do not believe that we are, and we do not expect to become, a pension-held REIT.

Tax Rates Applicable to Individual Stockholders

        Long-term capital gains (i.e., capital gains with respect to assets held for more than one year) and "qualified dividends" received by an individual generally are subject to federal income tax at a maximum rate of 20%. Short-term capital gains (i.e., capital gains with respect to assets held for one year or less) generally are subject to federal income tax at ordinary income rates. Because we are not generally subject to federal income tax on the portion of our REIT taxable income or capital gains distributed to our stockholders, our dividends generally are not eligible for the 20% maximum tax rate on qualified dividends. As a result, our ordinary dividends generally are taxed at the higher tax rates

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applicable to ordinary income. However, the 20% maximum tax rate for long-term capital gains and qualified dividends generally applies to:

Information Reporting and Back-up Withholding

        We will report to our domestic stockholders and to the IRS the amount of distributions paid during each calendar year, and the amount of tax withheld, if any, with respect to such distributions. Under the back-up withholding rules, a domestic stockholder may be subject to back-up withholding at applicable rates on distributions paid unless the stockholder (i) is a corporation or is otherwise specifically exempt from back-up withholding and, when required, demonstrates this fact or (ii) provides a taxpayer identification number, certifies as to no loss of exemption from back-up withholding, and complies with applicable requirements of the back-up withholding rules. A stockholder that does not provide us with his or her correct taxpayer identification number may also be subject to penalties imposed by the IRS.

        Payments of dividends or of proceeds from the disposition of stock made to a foreign stockholder may be subject to information reporting and back-up withholding unless such holder establishes an exemption, for example, by properly certifying its foreign status on an IRS Form W-8BEN or, in the case of a foreign entity stockholder, an IRS Form W-8BEN-E, or another appropriate version of IRS Form W-8. Notwithstanding the foregoing, back-up withholding may apply if either we or our paying agent has actual knowledge, or reason to know, that a stockholder is a U.S. person.

        Any amount paid as back-up withholding will be credited against the stockholder's income tax liability. In addition, we may be required to withhold a portion of any capital gain distributions made to any stockholders who fail to certify their non-foreign status to us. Currently, the back-up withholding rate is 28%.

Additional Healthcare Tax

        Certain U.S. persons, including individuals, estates and trusts, will be subject to an additional 3.8% tax, which, for individuals, applies to the lesser of (i) "net investment income" or (ii) the excess of "modified adjusted gross income" over $200,000 ($250,000 if married and filing jointly or $125,000 if married and filing separately). "Net investment income" generally equals the taxpayer's gross investment income reduced by the deductions that are allocable to such income. Investment income generally includes passive income such as interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, rents and capital gains.

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Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

        The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") imposes a U.S. federal withholding tax on certain types of payments made to "foreign financial institutions" and certain other non-U.S. entities unless certain due diligence, reporting, withholding, and certification obligation requirements are satisfied. FATCA generally imposes a U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% on dividends on, and gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, our stock if paid to a foreign entity unless either (i) the foreign entity is a "foreign financial institution" that undertakes certain due diligence, reporting, withholding, and certification obligations, or in the case of a foreign financial institution that is a resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement to implement FATCA, the entity complies with the diligence and reporting requirements of such agreement, (ii) the foreign entity is not a "foreign financial institution" and identifies certain of its U.S. investors, or (iii) the foreign entity otherwise is excepted under FATCA. If we determine withholding is appropriate in respect of our common stock, we may withhold tax at the applicable statutory rate, and we will not pay any additional amounts in respect of such withholding. However, under delayed effective dates provided for in the Treasury regulations and other IRS guidance, such required withholding will not begin until January 1, 2019 with respect to gross proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our common stock.

        If withholding is required under FATCA on a payment related to our common stock, holders of our common stock that otherwise would not be subject to withholding (or that otherwise would be entitled to a reduced rate of withholding) generally will be required to seek a refund or credit from the IRS to obtain the benefit of such exemption or reduction (provided that such benefit is available). You should consult your own tax advisor regarding the effect of FATCA on an investment in our common stock.

Possible Legislative or Other Actions Affecting Tax Consequences

        Prospective stockholders should recognize that the present federal income tax treatment of an investment in us may be modified by legislative, judicial or administrative action at any time and that any such action may affect investments and commitments previously made. The rules dealing with federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the IRS and the Treasury, resulting in revisions of regulations and revised interpretations of established concepts as well as statutory changes. Revisions in federal tax laws and interpretations of these laws could adversely affect the tax consequences of your investment.

State, Local and Foreign Taxes

        We and our stockholders may be subject to state, local or foreign taxation in various jurisdictions, including those in which we or they transact business or reside. The state, local and foreign tax treatment of us and our stockholders may not conform to the federal income tax consequences discussed above. Consequently, prospective stockholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the effects of state, local and foreign tax laws on an investment in us.

Pending Tax Reform Legislation

        On November 16, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1). On December 2, 2017, the Senate passed a different version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. A conference committee made up of members of the House and Senate reconciled the two versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and released a conference report on December 15, 2017. The reconciled version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Reform Bill") must be passed in both the House and the Senate and signed by the President before becoming law. The Tax Reform Bill would make significant changes to the United States income tax rules applicable to both individuals and

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corporations. In particular, the Tax Reform Bill would reduce the corporate tax rate and may reduce the effective tax rate for individuals on the receipt of ordinary REIT dividends. It is not possible to state with certainty whether the Tax Reform Bill will pass, when it will pass, and the effect of the legislation on us and on an investment in our capital stock.

        In general, the rules dealing with U.S. federal income taxation are continually under review by Congress, the IRS and the Treasury, and statutory changes as well as promulgation of new regulations, revisions to existing statutes, and revised interpretations of established concepts occur frequently. You are urged to consult with your tax advisor with respect to the status of the Tax Reform Bill and any other legislative, regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on your investment in our capital stock.


PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

        We may sell the securities to one or more underwriters for public offering and sale by them or we may sell the securities to investors directly or through agents or through a combination of any of these methods of sale. Our common stock or preferred stock, as applicable, may be issued by us upon conversion of our preferred stock or debt securities or upon exercise of rights or warrants. The securities that we distribute by any of these methods may be sold to the public, in one or more transactions, at a fixed price or prices that may be changed, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices, or at negotiated prices.

        Any underwriter or agent involved in the offer and sale of the securities will be named in the related prospectus supplement. We reserve the right to sell the securities directly to investors on our own behalf in those jurisdictions where we are authorized to do so.

        Underwriters may offer and sell the securities at a fixed price or prices that may be changed at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices, or at negotiated prices. We also may, from time to time, authorize dealers, acting as our agents, to offer and sell the securities upon the terms and conditions described in the related prospectus supplement. Underwriters may receive compensation from us in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions and may also receive commissions from purchasers of the securities for whom they may act as an agent. Underwriters may sell the securities to or through dealers, and the dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters or commissions, which may be changed from time to time, from the purchasers for whom they may act as agents.

        In addition, we may enter into derivative or hedging transactions with third parties, or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. In connection with such a transaction, the third parties may sell securities covered by and pursuant to this prospectus and an applicable prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be. If so, the third party may use securities borrowed from us or others to settle such sales and may use securities received from us to close out any related short positions. We may also loan or pledge securities covered by this prospectus and an applicable prospectus supplement to third parties, who may sell the loaned securities or, in an event of default in the case of a pledge, sell the pledged securities pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be.

        Any underwriting compensation paid by us to underwriters or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and discounts, concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers, will be stated in the related prospectus supplement. Dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters, and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the applicable securities laws. Underwriters, dealers and agents may be entitled, under agreements entered into with us, to

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indemnification against and contribution towards certain civil liabilities, including any liabilities under the applicable securities laws.

        Some or all of the securities we may sell may be new issues of securities with no established trading market. We cannot give any assurances as to the liquidity of the trading market for any of our securities.

        In connection with an offering of securities, the underwriters may purchase and sell securities in the open market. These transactions may include over-allotment, syndicate covering transactions and stabilizing transactions. Over-allotment involves sales of securities in excess of the principal amount of securities to be purchased by the underwriters in an offering, which creates a short position for the underwriters. Covering transactions involve purchase of the securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions. Stabilizing transactions consist of certain bids or purchases of securities made for the purpose of preventing or slowing a decline in the market price of the securities while the offering is in progress. Any of these activities may have the effect of preventing or slowing a decline in the market price of the securities being offered. They may also cause the price of the securities being offered to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. If the underwriters commence any of these transactions, they may discontinue them at any time.

        Certain of the underwriters, dealers or agents and their associates may engage in transactions with, and perform services for us and our affiliates in the ordinary course of business for which they may receive customary fees and expenses.


LEGAL MATTERS

        Certain legal matters with respect to the guarantees and federal income tax will be passed upon for us by Morrison & Foerster LLP, Los Angeles, California. The validity of the securities will be passed upon for us by Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. If legal matters in connection with any offering of any of the securities described in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material are passed on by counsel for any underwriters of such offering, that counsel will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering material.


EXPERTS

        The consolidated financial statements of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. appearing in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.'s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2016 (including the schedule appearing therein), and the effectiveness of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.'s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2016 have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.


FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

        This prospectus and the documents we have incorporated by reference contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. You can identify the forward-looking statements by their use of forward-looking words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "forecast," "guidance," "projects" or "anticipates," or the negative of these words or similar words. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties regarding events, conditions and financial trends that may affect our future plans of

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operation, business strategy, results of operations and financial position. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those included within or contemplated by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, those described in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and our most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as incorporated herein by reference. See "Where You Can Find More Information." Other than as may be required by law, we do not undertake any responsibility to update any of these factors or to announce publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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$750,000,000

LOGO

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

Common Stock



Prospectus Supplement



Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
Barclays
BB&T Capital Markets
BNP PARIBAS
BTIG
Evercore ISI
Mizuho Securities
RBC Capital Markets
Scotiabank
SMBC
TD Securities

August 31, 2018