W. P. Carey Inc. is a

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping cente ...

that invests in properties leased to single tenants via NNN leases. The company is organized in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, with its primary office in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. As of December 31, 2019, the company owned 1,214 properties in 25 countries leased to 345 tenants. Approximately 64% of the company's revenue is derived in United States and 36% in Europe.

History

The company was founded in 1973 by William P. Carey. In the early 1980s, the company was innovative in the use of

leaseback Leaseback, short for "sale-and-leaseback", is a financial transaction in which one sells an asset and leases it back for the long term; therefore, one continues to be able to use the asset but no longer owns it. The transaction is generally done f ...

transactions to acquire properties. In 1982, the company acquired three Gibson manufacturing and warehouse buildings from

Wesray Capital Corporation Wesray Capital Corporation was an early private equity firm focusing on leveraged buyout investments. The firm was founded by former US Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon and former New Jersey Nets owner Ray Chambers. The firm is known ...

. In March 2009, the company bought 21 floors of the 52-story

New York Times Building The New York Times Building is a 52-story skyscraper at 620 Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eighth Avenue, between 40th and 41st Streets, on the west side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Its chief tenant is the New York Times Company, publis ...

on Eighth Avenue in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

for $225 million in a leaseback transaction in which

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

agreed to lease space in the building for up to 15 years, while retaining the right to buy the building back in 2019 for $250 million. In 2012, William P. Carey, the founder of the company, died. The company also merged with its non-traded real estate investment trust affiliate, Corporate Property Associates 15, and reorganized into a real estate investment trust. In 2014, the company merged with Corporate Property Associates 16, one of its non-traded REIT affiliates. The company also acquired a portfolio of properties in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for $138 million in a leaseback transaction. In 2016, the company acquired three properties leased to

Nord Anglia Education Nord Anglia Education, commonly referred to as Nord Anglia, is a provider of international schools. The head office is in Nova South, 160 Victoria Street, London. Nord Anglia has 70+ private day and boarding schools which are located in 30 co ...

for $167 million and a portfolio of properties in North America leased to ABC Group for $145 million in a leaseback transaction. In 2017, the company stopped sponsoring non-public REITs and liquidated or began the phase-out of the funds that it managed. In 2018, the company merged with CPA:17 - Global.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:W. P. Carey and Co. Financial services companies established in 1973 1973 establishments in Maryland Publicly traded companies based in New York City Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Real estate investment trusts of the United States