WL Ross & W. P. Carey Provide $128 Million in New Capital to Wagon plc
New York, NY – August 19, 2008 – Investment firms WL Ross & Co. LLC and W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC) have completed their respective investments in European automotive supplier Wagon plc. WL Ross contributed approximately $70 million of new capital via a special rights offering of Wagon common shares, while two of W. P. Carey’s publicly held non-traded REITs, CPA®:15 and CPA®:17 – Global, provided approximately $58 million via a sale-leaseback of Wagon’s manufacturing sites in Waldaschaff and Nagold, Germany.
“The new capital from WL Ross and W. P. Carey comes at an ideal time,” said Richard Cotton, Chief Financial Officer of Wagon. “It enables us to fund our growth initiatives, support the company’s recent contract wins with IVECO and Porsche, and repay existing debt facilities.”
Founded in 1918 as a railway wagon repair business, Wagon now focuses on the design, engineering and manufacture of vehicle body structures and closure systems and is one of the leading European suppliers to the automotive industry. Its top customers include Peugeot, Renault, Daimler, and Volkswagen. Listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: WAGN), Wagon employs 6,500 people across 22 plants in 10 countries.
“We are delighted to support a portfolio company backed by Wilbur Ross,” said Jeffrey Lefleur, Director of W. P. Carey. “Furthermore, with this transaction closed, we’ve provided more than $150 million in sale-leaseback financing in Europe in the last two months, once again affirming our position as a leading source of alternative long-term finance." W. P. Carey also committed to providing an additional $10.5 million of financing to meet Wagon’s specific manufacturing expansion plans.
Noted billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, who will see his firm’s position in Wagon increase from 15% to well over 75%, commented, “We were supportive of the sale-leaseback with W. P. Carey as an alternative method of raising capital and enhancing Wagon’s long-term value.” Mr. Ross also has created International Auto Components Group, a leading global supplier of automotive components and systems formed from the former interiors divisions of Lear and Collins & Aikman and by the acquisition of Plascar in Brazil and MBK in Japan.
W. P. Carey & Co. LLC
W. P. Carey & Co. LLC provides long-term sale-leaseback and build-to-suit financing for companies worldwide and manages a global investment portfolio worth more than $10 billion. Publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (WPC), W. P. Carey and its CPA® series of income-generating, non-traded REITs help companies and private equity firms release capital tied up in real estate assets. Now in our 35th year, the W. P. Carey Group’s real estate holdings are highly diversified, comprised of more than 850 commercial and industrial assets spanning 28 industries and 14 countries. www.wpcarey.com
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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.
