$32M W.P. Carey Sale/Leaseback Deal Totals 270,000 SF

NEW YORK CITY-W.P. Carey & Co. LLC keeps the pedal to the metal with the completion of yet another sale-leaseback deal, this one a $32-million acquisition of two properties from Bedord, MA-based Hologic Inc. The women’s diagnostic imaging systems provider has sold and leased back its corporate headquarters building as well as the Lorad mammography facility in Danbury, CT it acquired two years ago.

Hologic has signed a 20-year bond type net lease on the 207,000-sf class A headquarters building it occupies in Bedford and a 63,000-sf office, research and manufacturing property in Danbury. The Bedford facility houses Hologic’s corporate, bone assessment, digital systems and mini-c-arm operations, whereas the company’s Lorad mammography and breast biopsy unit is located in Danbury. Hologic acquired Lorad in September 2000 from Waltham, MA-based Thermo Electron Corp. in a $52-million deal.

W.P. Carey purchased the assets on behalf of Corporate Property Associates 15 Inc., the company’s newest fund. “This transaction is another example of how a sale-leaseback can provide a company like Hologic with an alternative means of obtaining funds to pay down corporate debt,” says Edward V. LaPuma, a Managing Director at W. P. Carey. “In today’s tightening credit markets companies continue to realize the benefits of converting their bricks and mortar into working capital. This transaction provided us the opportunity to work with a talented management team, one we expect to develop a long-term relationship with in the years to come.”