Capital Automotive REIT closes $149
Million in Acquisitions for Third Quarter - Adds 32
Properties Representing 44 Franchises in Eight States -
MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Automotive REIT (Nasdaq: CARS - news) today
announced that it has closed approximately $148.8 million of acquisitions in the quarter ended
September 30, 1998. Consideration for the acquisitions was substantially all cash. The acquisitions
included 32 dealership properties in eight states representing 44 franchises, and totaling
approximately 167 acres and 1.1 million building square feet. The average initial lease term for these
acquisitions is 14.6 years, with multiple five and 10-year renewal options. Significant transactions are
listed below.
As previously announced, three acquisitions totaling $65 million were completed in conjunction with
the Company's agreement with Automotive Realty Trust of America (''ARTA'') and closed during
the quarter:
* Three properties from Park Place Motor Cars in Houston, Dallas and
Plano, Texas.
* Three properties from the Momentum Automotive Group in Houston, Texas.
* Four properties from the Lynn Alexander Automotive Group, in San Angelo
and Big Spring Texas.
Additionally, several previously announced transactions closed during the quarter, including:
* Five properties from the Gunn Automotive Group in San Antonio, Texas
totaling approximately $22.4 million.
* Three properties from the Kelley Automotive Group in Atlanta, Georgia
and Fort Wayne, Indiana totaling approximately $16.2 million.
* Four properties from Warren Henry Automobiles in Miami, Florida totaling
approximately $12.7 million.
* Two properties, Airport Marina Ford and Airport Marina Saturn, from
Russell E. Hand, in Los Angeles, California totaling approximately
$10.7 million.
* Four properties from Orr Automotive in Texarkana, Texas and Shreveport,
Louisiana totaling approximately $5.5 million.
The Company also announced today the completion of two property acquisitions from Scott Fink,
totaling 10.9 acres, and operated by Sonic Automotive, Inc. for approximately $8.7 million. Toyota
and Mitsubishi franchises operate on the properties, which are located in Clearwater, Florida. Sonic
Automotive is a publicly-traded company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol ''SAH''. Sonic Automotive was the 8th largest automotive retailing group in the country in
1997, with over 48,000 new and used vehicle unit sales and $950 million in revenues according to
Automotive News. In 1997, Clearwater Mitsubishi was the number one Mitsubishi retailer in the
United States.
Thomas D. Eckert, president and chief executive officer of Capital Automotive, stated, ''The
acquisitions completed this quarter clearly demonstrate our ability to execute our business plan in
today's volatile financial markets. In the upcoming quarters, we will continue to implement our
strategy of pursuing high quality acquisitions by capitalizing on our strong balance sheet to obtain
short-term and long-term financing. Simultaneously, we expect that equity markets will remain soft in
the short to intermediate-term, limiting competition in our niche and allowing us to continue to acquire
high quality properties at attractive lease rates. Our strong competitive position will allow us to
strengthen our portfolio by diversifying our tenant base and creating additional geographic and
franchise diversification.''
As of September 30, 1998 Capital Automotive owns 96 properties from 23 dealership groups. Nine
(9) of the Company's 23 dealership groups ranked within the 100 largest automotive dealer groups
for 1997 as published by Automotive News. Sixty-five (65) percent of the Company's annualized
revenues are derived from these nine groups. Capital Automotive's portfolio includes $413 million in
automotive-related properties. The Company's real estate portfolio is currently supported by 137
automotive franchises representing 35 brands in 16 states. The Company's real estate portfolio
includes 521 acres of automotive properties and 3.4 million square feet of dealership buildings. |
