NEW YORK, NY – May 14, 2001 – W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE:WPC), a leading real estate investment banking firm and lessor of net leased corporate properties, announced today that it has acquired and leased-back four facilities from Waddington North America, Inc. (Waddington), a leading producer of plastic disposable tableware products. for approximately $18 million. Waddington is majority owned by Code Hennessy & Simmons (CHS), a Chicago-based investment firm specializing in private equity investments in middle-market companies.
The manufacturing facilities, consisting of a total of 363,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space, are located in City of Industry, California; Lancaster, Texas; Chelmsford, Massachusetts; and Florence, Kentucky. The facilities were purchased on behalf of Corporate Property Associates 14 Incorporated (CPA®:14), a public, non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in single-tenant commercial properties. CPA®:14 is a member of the $3 billion W. P. Carey Group and as of December 31, 2000 CPA®:14 had total assets of $645 million.
Benjamin P. Harris, Vice President of W. P. Carey and lead acquisitions officer in this transaction, said, "The Waddington transaction is another example of W. P. Carey's ongoing commitment of providing creative real estate financing solutions to meet the needs of the private equity community. Despite today's tightening capital markets, W. P. Carey was able to provide CHS and Waddington with capital through the sale and leaseback of its manufacturing assets, allowing them to pay down debt and invest in its core business.
Waddington manufactures a broad product line of injection molded and thermoformed cups, plates, serving trays, cutlery and other disposable tableware for restaurants, caterers and consumers nationwide. The company has a diversified customer base that includes many of the top food service distributors, national restaurant chains, grocery chains and mass merchant retailers.
As of March 31, 2001, CPA®:14 had a diversified portfolio that included 66 properties net-leased to 44 tenants throughout the United States. These properties are subject to long-term, triple-net leases in which the tenants bear responsibility for maintaining the premises, insuring the buildings and paying real estate taxes. W. P. Carey & Co. LLC and its affiliate CPA®:14, target middle-market tenants and private companies with an eye towards providing creative financing solutions to meet their corporate real estate needs. The firm has found that when a company removes real estate from their balance sheet they are then able to re-deploy this much-needed capital to pay down debt, or finance other corporate initiatives.
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 leading lessors of net leased corporate real estate. W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC), the largest publicly traded limited liability company in the world, owns and manages more than 45 million square feet of property in the United States and Europe. The firm is headquartered in Manhattan and has offices in London and Paris. Additional information on W. P. Carey can be found on the firm's website: www.wpcarey.com
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.