NEW YORK, NEW YORK – September 2, 2003 – Investment firm W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC) announced that it completed $34 million of sale-leaseback and build-to-suit financing transactions with three companies involving seven facilities located in five states.
The transactions, completed on behalf of CPA®:15 and CPA®:14, members of the $5 billion W. P. Carey Group of income generating real estate investment trusts (REITs), involved:
- American Pad & Paper LLC (Ampad): CPA®:15 acquired four manufacturing facilities from Plano, Texas-based Ampad for approximately $16 million. The facilities, which total 924,000 square feet, are located in Mattoon, Illinois; Holyoke and Westfield, Massachusetts; and Morristown, Tennessee. The facilities will be leased back under a 20-year bond-type net lease. Ampad is a leading manufacturer and distributor of writing pads, filing supplies, retail envelopes and specialty papers and serves many of the largest and fastest growing office products retailers and distributors in North America.
- Kerr Group, Inc.: CPA®:15 acquired two manufacturing/warehouse and distribution facilities located in Bowling Green, Kentucky and Jackson, Tennessee, for approximately $14.8 million. The 368,000 square foot facilities will be leased to Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Kerr Group under an 18-year bond-type net lease. Kerr Group designs and manufactures highly engineered, proprietary, injection and compression molded plastic closures and containers that incorporate functional features such as child-resistance and tamper-evidence. Kerr Group is majority-owned by Fremont Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm.
- Rave Reviews Cinemas LLC: CPA®:14 provided Dallas, Texas-based Rave Reviews with approximately $3.2 million in additional financing to construct two additional theaters, totaling 12,000 square feet, at its 14-screen megaplex located in Pensacola, Florida. CPA®:14 provided funding to construct the original 14-screen megaplex in 2000. Rave Reviews focuses solely on building high quality, 14 to 18 screen stadium theater megaplexes in small to mid-size markets in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States.
“These transactions reflect the continued interest from a diverse group of companies seeking an alternative source of capital to improve their businesses,” said Gordon F. DuGan, President and Co-CEO of W. P. Carey & Co. “Companies that utilize the sale-leaseback structure to meet their capital needs understand the importance of matching long-term assets with long-term financing. We have significant capital resources available to other companies that may wish to take advantage of our attractive financing terms.”
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 affiliated income generating, publicly held, non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) continue to be leading lessors of net-leased corporate real estate. The largest publicly traded limited liability company in the world, W. P. Carey owns and/or manages more than 550 commercial and industrial properties throughout the United States and Europe representing more than 75 million square feet.
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 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.
