Hellweg Die Profi-Baumarkte GmbH & Co. KG

Growth Financing

June 2005 and April 2007

Originally founded 100 years ago as a lumber retailer, Hellweg has been serving as one of the leading “Do-It-Yourself” retailers in Germany over the last 35 years.  The Company operates in close to 80 stores across Germany and Austria.

Situation:  Hellweg was looking for a long-term financing solution to grow its business and fund future corporate initiatives with a partner it trusted and had worked with before (W. P. Carey and Hellweg engaged in a $154 million sale-leaseback transaction in 2005).

Financing: The W. P. Carey Group provided $446 million in financing to Hellweg through the partial purchase of Hellweg’s real estate subsidiary and a loan collateralized by 37 operating sites.  The sites total approximately 3.2 million square feet and are located throughout Germany.

Outcome:  Hellweg was able to use the proceeds to generate a solid balance sheet and reinvest in its core competencies.