Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Wed, January 21, 2009 W. P. Carey & Co. LLC: W. P. Carey Group Closes First '09 Deal
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - January 21, 2009) - Investment firm W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (
Founded in 1975, Kronos is a specialty manufacturer of Mediterranean and Greek food products. Kronos played a large role in introducing the gyro, a blend of lamb and choice beef with Greek spices, to the United States. Today, Kronos is the nation's leading manufacturer of gyros meat, producing more than 250,000 sandwiches daily. In addition, it is a leading producer of related products such as flatbread pita and tzatziki sauce, and is the country's foremost specialty baker of baklava and other premium fillo dough-based pastries. Kronos sells its products through a nationwide network of distributors including Dot Foods, Sysco, and U.S. Foodservice, as well as through large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, BJ's Wholesale Club and Trader Joe's. Chicago-based private equity firm Prospect Partners, LLC invested in Kronos Foods, Inc. in 2004.
"By combining our Chicago operations into our new facility, we will improve productivity, increase manufacturing flexibility and create new opportunities to develop innovative products and expand upon the Kronos brand," said Michael Austin, Chief Executive Officer of Kronos Foods, Inc. "W. P. Carey is helping us achieve all of these objectives by providing a flexible and timely financing option. We're confident our new state-of-the-art food processing facility will be key to growing our business."
"Our acquisition and subsequent renovation of the Glendale Heights cold storage facility into a high-tech food production facility for Kronos is a win-win situation and provides another example of how in the current financing market W. P. Carey is able to continue to provide liquidity to private equity portfolio companies as well as other businesses," said Gino Sabatini, Executive Director at W. P. Carey. "We are gaining a strong tenant and what will become its critical operating facility and Kronos is gaining a state-of-the-art plant to serve its production and marketing needs. We look forward to having Kronos as a tenant and to watching the company continue to expand its business."
W. P. Carey & Co. LLC
W. P. Carey & Co. LLC is an investment management company that 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 unlock capital tied up in real estate assets. The W. P. Carey Group's investments are highly diversified, comprising contractual agreements with approximately 300 long-term corporate obligors spanning 28 industries and 14 countries. [ www.wpcarey.com ]
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.
