NEW YORK, NY – November 8, 2000 – 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 a cross-dock facility operated by Towne Air Freight, Inc. (TAF). The facility, located near Chicago's O'Hare airport, was purchased on behalf of Corporate Property Associates 14 (CPA®:14). CPA®:14, a public non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT), is a member of the $2.5 billion W. P. Carey Group.
The facility is a 46,672 square foot cross-dock truck terminal located on an 11.72 acre site within the Centex Industrial Park, in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, just a few minutes from O'Hare Airport and two miles from Interstate 90, which provides metropolitan and regional access. Under the terms of the sale-leaseback transaction, the facility is leased to TAF under on a 20-year bond-type net lease. The total cost of the facility was approximately $8.3 million.
Founded in 1963, Towne Air Freight, Inc. ("TAF") through its parent company, is owned by the Downey family and the Chicago based private equity firm William Blair. One of Chicago's largest full service air freight trucking companies, TAF's operations include airport to airport, airport to destination, and destination to airport trucking. TAF also provides "less than truckload" surface transportation between states, as well as other related transportation services. TAF's Chicago facility has 102 raised level loading doors and is the largest and most important of its 19 terminals in the Midwest and along the East Coast. TAF's customers span a wide range of industries; its largest clients include Bristol Myers Squibb, Delta Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo, Ryder Dedicated Logistics, Schneider Logistics, United Airlines, KLM Cargo and the United Parcel Service.
Commenting on the transaction, Edward V. LaPuma, Executive Director of W. P. Carey, stated, "W. P. Carey's range and depth of both real estate and investment banking experience enables our acquisition team to address the specific financing needs of companies in virtually every industry. Given the current volatility in the equity markets and the tumbling values of IPOs, we are increasingly working in conjunction with private equity firms like William Blair to design financings that provide liquidity and flexible financing for their portfolio companies. In this case the proceeds of the sale-leaseback of the TAF O'Hare facility will enable the company to reduce debt, thereby providing a non-dilutive source of cash for current operations as well as for future growth and expansion."
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. The W. P. Carey Group manages the largest publicly traded limited liability company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and four real estate investment trusts (REITS). Collectively, Carey manages over 33 million square feet of property in the USA and Europe. The W. P. Carey Group's properties have an aggregate value of approximately $2.5 billion.
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.
