NEW YORK, NY – January 23, 2002 – W. P. Carey International, a global real estate investment banking firm, announced today that it has purchased and leased-backed a research and production facility in Turku, Finland from PerkinElmer, Inc., for $24.6 million (US) (approximately EURO28 million).
PerkinElmer, Inc., a high technology company based in Boston, Massachusetts, operates in three businesses – Life Sciences, Optoelectronics and Analytical Instruments. The company has operations in over 125 countries, and is a component of the S&P 500 Index.
Under the terms of the sale-leaseback agreement, the facility will be leased to Wallac Oy, a wholly owned subsidiary of PerkinElmer under a 20-year bond-type net lease, with three, five-year renewal options. Located in Turku, Finland, 100 miles West of Helsinki, the 282,609 square foot first class facility provides lab, office and production space for Wallac Oy. Turku is Finland's leading center for technology and biotechnology related R&D and production.
The facility is W. P. Carey International's first acquisition in Finland and was purchased on behalf of Corporate Property Associates 14 Incorporated (CPA®:14), a publicly held non-traded real estate investment trust managed and advised by W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE:WPC).
Edward V. LaPuma, Executive Director at W. P. Carey & Co., said, "This transaction with PerkinElmer is a perfect example of how companies can use the sale-leaseback of their real estate as an effective tool for raising capital regardless of where the properties are located. W. P. Carey International is poised to make a significant push into the global market in 2002. This transaction further emphasizes our capability and objective to help companies achieve their financing needs."
Edward Zielinski, PerkinElmer's Vice President of Asset Management, said, "As a world leader in the development of new technologies for the life science industries, this transaction allows us to convert our corporate real estate assets into capital to fund further growth and development. Moreover, close collaboration with the W. P. Carey team and Spaulding & Slye Colliers enabled us to close a complicated international transaction in just 45 days."
CPA®:14 invests in single-tenant commercial properties. These properties are typically purchased under a long-term, triple-net lease in which the tenant is responsible for maintaining the premises, insuring the buildings and paying real estate taxes. As of September 30, 2001, CPA®:14's diversified portfolio consisted of 87 properties net-leased to 50 tenants throughout the United States and Europe.
Founded in 1973, W. P. Carey & Co. (NYSE:WPC) specializes in corporate real estate financing through the corporate net lease, or sale-leaseback structure. The firm and its affiliates continue to be the leading lessors of net leased corporate real estate in the United States. As the largest publicly traded limited liability company in the world, the company owns and/or manages more than 400 commercial and industrial properties throughout the United States and Europe comprising of more than 50 million-square-feet of space. The firm is headquartered in Manhattan and has offices in London and Paris.
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.
