NEW YORK, NY – April 15, 2002 – W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC), a leading real estate investment banking firm, announced today that it has acquired and leased-backed three warehouse facilities from Huntersville, North Carolina-based Heafner Tire Group, Inc., the nation's largest independent wholesale distributor of replacement tires. Heafner Tire is owned by Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC, a Boston-based private equity and real estate investment firm.
According to the terms of the sale-leaseback agreement, the facilities will be leased to Heafner Tire Group, Inc. under a twenty-year net lease. The facilities, which are key to the company's operations, total more than 465,600 square feet and are located in Lincolnton and Charlotte, North Carolina and Greenville, South Carolina. The facilities were purchased for $15 million on behalf of Corporate Property Associates 14 Incorporated (CPA®:14), a member of the $3 billion W. P. Carey Group of publicly held non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs).
"This sale-leaseback transaction will effectively turn Heafner Tire's real estate into working capital," said Edward V. LaPuma, Managing Director of W. P. Carey. "Sale-leasebacks are increasingly becoming a preferred method of financing for companies seeking to grow and expand their business or pay down corporate debt in today's tightening credit markets. Heafner Tire is yet another company that has realized the benefits of such a transaction."
"We are very pleased to have completed this transaction with W. P. Carey," said Tim R. Palmer, Managing Director of Charlesbank Capital Partners. "This was an efficient way for Heafner Tire Group to finance part of its comprehensive recapitalization, which allows the firm to continue to serve its customers better."
Heafner Tire Group, Inc., is the largest independent distributor of tires and tire-related products in the United States. Built through the acquisition of the premier distributors in the tire industry, the company offers over 300 years of combined experience servicing independent tire dealers, and continues to innovate new technologies, marketing programs, and capabilities. The company operates 63 distribution centers servicing 35 states and more than 35,000 customers each month. In 2000, the Company's sales from continuing operations totaled $1.1 billion, an increase of $179 million over the previous year.
Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC, is a private investment firm with more than $2 billion of capital committed to acquisition and expansion financing for growing companies and developing real estate assets. The firm focuses on middle-market management-led buyouts and growth capital financings, typically investing $20 million to $75 million per transaction. Charlesbank has offices in Boston and New York.
CPA®:14 invests in single-tenant commercial properties which 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 December 31, 2001, CPA®:14's diversified portfolio consisted of 111 properties net-leased to 53 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 450 commercial and industrial properties throughout the United States and Europe comprised of more than 55 million-square-feet of space.NOTE: On July 4, 2002, Heafner Tire Group, Inc. officially changed their corporate name to American Tire Distributors.
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.
