NEW YORK, NY – April 7, 1998 – W. P. Carey & Co., Inc., a New York real estate investment banking firm, announced the purchase of a to-be-built hi-tech manufacturing and development (clean room) facility. The property, located on approximately 4.2 acres in Hayward, California, is leased to Etec Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETEC) under a 15 year triple net lease. The purchase price of the 129,000 square foot facility was approximately $52 million. In addition, approximately $11.5 million in sale leaseback financing was provided for the renovation and expansion of Etec’s technology, manufacturing and development, and laboratory facilities located adjacent to the new facility. Construction on the new facility commenced in March 1998 and is anticipated to be completed in Spring of 1999.
Commenting on the investment, Wm. Polk Carey, Chairman of the firm, noted, "The combination of our credit analysis capabilities and corporate financing expertise has enabled us to work with Etec as it has transformed itself from a privately financed LBO into a highly successful publicly traded company. Our ability to provide Etec with flexible cost effective financing prior to the Company going public as well as assisting management on an ongoing basis with creative financing solutions for its expanding headquarters and hi-tech facilities exemplifies the scope of W. P. Carey’s financial structuring skills."
W. P. Carey First Vice President Gordon J. Whiting added, "After working with Etec on the sale leaseback financing of its existing headquarters and hi-tech facilities, we have maintained a close working relationship with management. Consequently, when it came time to finance the new facility, we had a clear understanding of the company’s financial and operating objectives and were able to tailor the financing to meet the Company’s current and longer term objectives. At the same time we developed a compatible restructuring of our original financing with the Company that maximizes the value of the existing facility for both the Company and our investors."
Etec Systems, Inc. is a world leader in the production of photomask pattern generation equipment for the semiconductor industry. For its fiscal year ended July 31, 1997 Etec Systems reported revenue of $240.9 million and net income of $34.4 million.
Founded in 1973, W. P. Carey & Co. specializes in corporate real estate financing using the corporate net lease, or sale-leaseback, structure. The firm, and its affiliates, is one of the largest lessors of net leased corporate real estate in the nation. Carey has sponsored the Corporate Properties Associates (CPA®) series of public real estate partnerships and real estate investment trusts (REITs) which, together with Carey Institutional Properties, collectively own over 30 million square feet of property located in 41 states with an aggregate value of approximately $2 billion dollars. The firm recently consolidated the interests of investors in its initial nine investment partnerships, CPA®:1-9 into Carey Diversified LLC, a publicly traded Limited Liability Company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:CDC), the nation’s largest publicly traded limited liability company.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. A number of factors could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially from those anticipated. Among those risks, trends and uncertainties are the general economic climate; the supply of and demand for office and industrial properties; interest rate levels; the availability of financing; and other risks associated with the acquisition and ownership of properties, including risks that the tenants will not pay rent, or that costs may be greater than anticipated. For further information on factors that could impact the company, reference is made to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
