NEW YORK, NY, December 19, 2005 - Investment firm W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC) announced today that it provided leveraged buyout financing to a portfolio company of Jefferies Capital Partners, a US-based private equity investment firm, to fund its acquisition of Murray International Metals Limited (MIM), a leading supplier of specialist steel to the oil and gas industry.
W. P. Carey, on behalf of its affiliated income generating real estate fund Corporate Property Associates 16 – Global (CPA®:16 – Global), acquired MIM’s headquarters and warehouse facilities located in Edinburgh, Scotland. The facilities will be leased back for an initial period of 25 years. Proceeds from the sale-leaseback were used as a component of the LBO financing.
This latest acquisition adds to W. P. Carey’s rapidly growing portfolio of managed properties throughout Europe and Asia consisting of more than 15 million square feet. Among the transactions completed by the W. P. Carey Group over the past twelve months were: Carrefour (France); Hellweg Die Profi-Baumärkte GmbH & Co. KG, (Germany); Integrated Distribution Systems (Thailand); Advanced Decorative Systems (UK); John Nurminen Oy (Finland); Metokote Corporation (Canada and Mexico) and Pohjola Non-Life Insurance Company Ltd. (Finland).
Alistair Calvert, a Director of W. P. Carey International LLC, said, “This transaction is an excellent example of how sale-leaseback financing can be used to most efficiently leverage the available assets. This in turn minimizes the necessary equity commitment of a private equity firm when acquiring a new portfolio company. We are pleased to have provided financing that helped ensure the successful completion of this cross-border transaction.”
Nick Daraviras, Managing Director of Jefferies Capital Partners, said, “W. P. Carey provided an integral part of our overall capitalization structure. Jefferies Capital Partners is pleased to have W. P. Carey as a long term partner in this acquisition, our second investment in the specialty distribution sector serving the oil and gas industry.”
JEFFERIES CAPITAL PARTNERS
Jefferies Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm with more than $1 billion in equity commitments under management. Established in 1994, Jefferies Capital Partners invests in management buyouts, recapitalizations, industry consolidations and growth equity opportunities. www.jefcap.com
W. P. CAREY & CO. LLC
Founded in 1973, W. P. Carey & Co. LLC specializes in helping companies and private equity firms realize the capital tied up in their real estate assets. Whether used for buyouts, add-on acquisitions, recapitalizations or growth, net lease financing provides access to 100% of the real estate's value enabling companies to maintain complete operational control. Acting as principals in transactions from $5 million to $500 million, W. P. Carey and its affiliates have committed approximately $3 billion over the last three years and now manage more than $7.4 billion in assets. www.wpcarey.com/finance
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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.