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W. P. Carey & Co. LLC: The W. P. Carey Group Completes Fourth Sale-Leaseback With German DIY Retailer, OBI

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^{Published in Business and Finance on Thursday, October 15th 2009 at 6:30 GMT by Market Wire}  

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - October 15, 2009) - Investment firm W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: [ WPC ]) today announced that its publicly-held, non-traded REIT affiliate, CPA®:17 - Global, has entered into a [ sale-leaseback transaction ] with the OBI Group (OBI) totaling approximately EUR 10 million ($15 million).

This is the fourth sale-leaseback W. P. Carey has arranged with the [ OBI Group ] over the last four years, providing OBI with more than $200 million of total financing. One of the leading (do-it-yourself) DIY retailers in the world, OBI currently operates more than 530 stores in Central and Eastern Europe and is looking to further expand in this region.

Located on an 8.6 acre site in Gorzow Wielkopolsi, Poland, the property acquired comprises approximately 128,000 square feet in two retail facilities. One facility serves as an additional DIY retail store for OBI while the second is subleased to market leading European consumer electronics retailer MediaMarkt, owned by German retail group METRO AG.

Sergio Giroldi, Chief Executive Officer of OBI said:

"The sale-leaseback transactions we've completed with W. P. Carey over the past four years have continued to play a significant role in supporting our growth initiatives. Despite the vagaries of the capital markets, the W. P. Carey team has been able to consistently structure transactions that adapt to our operational and financial needs, and in this case allowed us to include the development of a facility for MediaMarkt, which complements our own operation. Our confidence in W. P. Carey as a steady source of capital has allowed us to effectively manage our core business and provide a financial platform for executing our ongoing development strategy."

"Working with OBI on an ongoing basis and continuing to grow our relationship with the company is another example of our philosophy of investing over the long-term," said Arvi Luoma, the acquisitions officer who worked on the deal. "Follow-on transactions with companies like OBI that meet our investment criteria have allowed us to expand our portfolio in Eastern Europe while adhering to our overall risk management parameters. This type of transaction demonstrates how the sale-leaseback can be structured to provide a source of liquidity that meets the specific development needs of a tenant at a point in the economic and credit market cycles when other types of financing are less available."

This transaction follows the [ £16m sale-leaseback ] with UK transport provider National Express Ltd., announced on 28 September, for National's main coach terminal and office headquarters.

W. P. Carey & Co. LLC

W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: [ WPC ]) 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 approaching $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 15 countries.

Individuals interested in receiving future updates on W. P. Carey via e-mail can register at [ www.wpcarey.com/alerts ].

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.