Investment banking form W.P. Carey & Co. LLC has acquired and leased back seven manufacturing facilities from Grand Rapids, Mich.-based vehicle component builder Tower Automotive Inc.
The deal, which includes plants in five states, totals $55.7 million.
"In today's tightening credit markets, sale-leaseback financing is increasingly becoming the popular method of raising capital as companies realize the advantages of monetizing their strategic assets," says Edward V. LaPuma, W.P. Carey managing director.
Tower Automotive supplies original equipment vehicle structural components and assemblies to Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler, General Motors and several other major domestic and foreign automakers.
Last April, Heafner Tire Group -- now known as American Tire Distributors -- sold and leased back three warehouses to W.P. Carey shortly after buying back and retiring more than $121 million in senior notes as part of its financial restructuring plan.
W.P. Carey claims to be the largest publicly traded limited liability company in the world, owning and/or managing more than 450 commercial and industrial properties throughout the United States and Europe.
