NEW YORK, NY – January 9, 2002 – W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE:WPC), a leading real estate investment banking firm and lessor of net leased corporate real estate, announced today that it has purchased and leased-backed three facilities from Dallas-based Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BFS), a leading distributor of lumber, engineered wood building components and other building materials to professional homebuilders nationwide, for approximately $13 million.
Under the terms of the sale-leaseback agreement, the facilities will be leased to BFS under a 15-year net lease. The properties consist of a 165,680 square foot distribution facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, a 159,881 square foot distribution facility in Elkwood, Virginia and a 63,700 square foot distribution facility in Norcross, Georgia.
The facilities were purchased on behalf of Corporate Property Associates 14 Incorporated (CPA®:14) and Corporate Property Associates 15 Incorporated (CPA®:15), members of the $3.5 billion W. P. Carey Group of non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs). CPA®:14 will own 60% of the properties, while CPA®:15 will own the remaining 40%.
In July, 1999, CPA®:14 financed the development of a 112,000 square foot regional manufacturing and warehouse distribution facility for BFS (formerly Builders' Supply & Lumber Co., Inc.) in Harrisburg, North Carolina. The purchase price of the site and to-be-built facilities was approximately $9.7 million.
Gordon J. Whiting, Executive Director of W. P. Carey, said, "We are pleased to have completed a second acquisition of a property subject to a long term lease by Builders FirstSource. As a leader in their industry, Builders FirstSource's management realizes the benefits and added value of sale-leaseback financing and its ability to allow companies to use the capital created by such a transaction to fund other important corporate initiatives."
BFS is one of the largest distributors of building products to professional homebuilders across the country. Its operations include 71 distribution centers and 60 manufacturing facilities in 12 states while its customers include some of the nation's leading homebuilders including Pulte, D.R. Horton and Centex.
CPA®:14 and CPA®:15 are both non-traded REITs that invest 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. 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.
