W. P. Carey Acquires German Big Box

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany—W. P. Carey Inc. says one of its managed non-traded REITs, has acquired a hypermarket in Gelsenkirchen. The facility is leased to Real, Germany’s largest hypermarket operator and a subsidiary of Metro AG, the German retail conglomerate. The property was acquired through Carey’s CPA:17 – Global REIT.

“This transaction offered the opportunity for CPA:17 – Global to acquire a stable retail asset with an attractive risk-adjusted yield and subject to a long-term triple net-lease,” said Arvi Luoma, director of W. P. Carey. “While we believe retail in the United States is in many instances overbuilt, big box retail in Europe—in this case, Germany—with strong credits is a far more attractive opportunity.  Having completed a transaction with Metro in Italy in 2011, we are pleased to expand upon this relationship and release capital from this asset that can now be deployed into Metro’s operating business.”