W.P. Carey Affiliate Completes Sale-Leaseback Deal with Nokia in Poland
In a sale-leaseback deal with Nokia Solutions and Networks, W.P. Carey Inc. has acquired an office/R&D facility in Poland on behalf of one of its managed non-traded REIT affiliates, CPA®:17 – Global (Corporate Property Associates 17 – Global).
By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor
Krakow, Poland—In a sale-leaseback deal with Nokia Solutions and Networks, W.P. Carey Inc. has acquired an office/R&D facility in Poland on behalf of one of its managed non-traded REIT affiliates, CPA®:17 – Global (Corporate Property Associates 17 – Global).
The transaction, which marks the company’s second acquisition in Poland this year, closed for approximately $13 million (€9.7 million). It comprises a 10-year, triple-net lease.
Located in Krakow, the country’s second largest city, the 53,377-square-foot facility houses approximately 300 engineers, computer technicians and researchers who are working within Nokia’s network and telecom infrastructure division. This segment remains the core business of Nokia following the sale of its mobile phone division to Microsoft.
“Nokia remains one of the world’s leading telecom infrastructure providers. The acquired facility is an important asset to Nokia Solutions and Networks Polish operations. This transaction highlights W. P. Carey’s ability to structure deals worldwide, providing long-term financing for leading global businesses,” Jeffrey Lefleur, managing director of W. P. Carey, says.
The property’s neighboring facilities are Motorola, Ericpol, the Jagiellonian University Library, Małopolska Information Technology Park and the Krakow LifeScience Technology Park and Bioincubator.
In recent years, Krakow has emerged as “Eastern Europe’s Silicon Valley.” The city hosts a strong cluster of technology businesses, including the offices and R&D centers of Google, IBM, GE and Hitachi.
“Poland is the second largest economy in Central Eastern Europe with projected GDP growth and a healthy and liquid banking industry. These metrics, along with the strength of the Nokia tenancy and positive outlook for the Krakow office market, enhanced the attraction of this acquisition as a solid addition to CPA®:17 – Global’s portfolio,” Lefleur adds.
W. P. Carey has been active in Europe since 1998. Together with its managed REITs, the company has invested approximately $4 billion (€3 billion) in the region.
W. P. Carey’s first transaction in Poland this year occurred in April, when the company paid $158 million (€115 million) to acquire Bank Pekao’s headquarters in Warsaw on behalf of two of its managed REITs.
Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN) is a subsidiary of leading global communications and information company Nokia Corporation, which has an equity market capitalization of $27 billion (€20 billion). It is listed on the NYSE (Ticker: NOK) and is rated “BB / Positive Outlook” by S&P and Moody’s.
