NEW YORK, NY – January 25, 2001 – W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC), a leader in the ownership and net leasing of corporate properties, today announced that it has closed on the acquisition of Simpson Industries, Inc.'s headquarters facility, located in Plymouth, Michigan. The facility was purchased on behalf of Corporate Property Associates 14 Incorporated (CPA®:14), a public non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT), and member of the $2.5 billion W. P. Carey Group.
The 70,000 square foot headquarters building is located on a 5-acre site Northwest of the Detroit metropolitan area. The transaction is part of the leveraged buyout of Simpson by Heartland Industrial Partners LP, a private equity firm based in Greenwich, CT. Heartland is acquiring Simpson as part of its strategic roll-up of a series of metal forming and machining companies in the automotive and industrial industry. The facility is leased to Simpson under a long-term fully net lease. The lease is unconditionally guaranteed by Simpson's Parent Company, Metaldyne.
Simpson is a leading designer, developer and producer of critical precision-engineered components and modular sub-assemblies for automotive, sport utility, light- and heavy-duty truck and diesel engines for automotive and commercial truck OEMs in North America, Europe and Asia.
Commenting on the transaction, Gordon F. DuGan, President and Chief Acquisitions Officer of W. P. Carey, stated, "W. P. Carey has a proven track record of developing creative financing solutions that meet the specific needs of companies in virtually every industry. A sale leaseback offers companies such as Simpson a particularly attractive financing option, especially given the current credit crunch being experienced in the bank and credit markets"
Founded in 1973, W. P. Carey & Co. specializes in corporate real estate financing using the corporate net lease, or sale-leaseback structure. The firm and its affiliates is one of the largest lessors of net leased corporate real estate in the nation. W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC), the largest publicly traded Limited Liability Company in the world, owns and manages over 42 million square feet of property in the USA and Europe. Additional information about W. P. Carey is available on the company's Web site: 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.