Positioned for Future Opportunities
Our key priorities for navigating through the difficult environment in 2009 were to enhance liquidity and reduce both debt and operational risk. In the fourth quarter of 2008, we implemented an action plan to de-leverage our balance sheet by $2 billion by the end of 2009 and mitigate risk by halting new development and leasing our existing development portfolio. In addition, we undertook a comprehensive effort to retain capital by reducing general and administrative expenses and lowering our dividend.
We are pleased to have accomplished and, in many cases, exceeded our 2009 goals. We created $6 billion of liquidity through asset sales, contributions of properties to ProLogis property funds and issuances of debt and equity. Proceeds from these activities were used to refinance, repay and repurchase debt, fund the remaining costs associated with properties under development and invest in our property funds.
By the end of 2009, we had reduced direct debt to $8.0 billion, from $10.7 billion at December 31, 2008. Another key element of our de-leveraging plan was to address the upcoming maturity of our global line of credit. In 2009, we extended the maturity to August 2012 and right-sized the credit facility to a level that is more appropriate for our current business activity.
We also were successful in leasing more than 21 million square feet of space in our development portfolio and substantially reducing our general and administrative expenses to better align spending with our growth expectations over the next few years.
