Capital Automotive REIT closes $149 Million in Acquisitions for Q3
6 October 1998
Capital Automotive REIT closes $149 Million in Acquisitions for Third Quarter - Adds 32 Properties Representing 44 Franchises in Eight States -
MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 6 -- Capital Automotive REIT
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.
Capital Automotive REIT, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is a
self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust formed to acquire
the real property and improvements used by operators of multi-site,
multi-franchised motor vehicle dealerships and motor vehicle related business.
Additional information on Capital Automotive REIT is available on the
Company's website at http://www.capitalautomotive.com.
The matters discussed in this press release include forward-looking
statements. In addition, when used in this press release, the words "intends
to," "believes," "anticipates," "expects" and similar expressions are intended
to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results in the future could differ
materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking
statements as a result of various important factors, including the general
economic climate, the supply of and demand for automotive properties, interest
rate levels, the availability of financing, and other risks associated with
the acquisition and leasing of properties, including risks that the tenants
will not pay rent or that operating costs may be greater than anticipated and
the other risk factors set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly
release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that
may be made to reflect any future events or circumstances.