W. P. Carey has approved a plan to exit all non-traded retail fundraising activities, in keeping with its long-term strategy of focusing exclusively on net lease investing for the company's balance sheet
W. P. Carey 's management and board of directors believes this approach will create long-term value for shareholders by optimizing the company's cost of capital and enhancing its ability to grow adjusted funds from operations through a combination of single-asset investments and portfolio acquisitions.
In conjunction with this decision, the company will cease all non-traded retail fundraising activities carried out by its wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary, Carey Financial, effective June 30, 2017. All existing managed programs will continue to be managed by the company through to the end of their natural lifecycles.
By taking these actions and executing on its long-term strategy, the Company anticipates the following benefits:
- Elimination of costs associated with its retail fundraising platform, while preserving recurring, stable income streams from the existing managed programs through to the end of their natural lifecycles;
- Increasingly stable and more predictable earnings as the contribution from variable structuring revenue further declines and earnings are ultimately derived entirely from long-term, recurring lease revenues generated by a high-quality, diversified portfolio of net lease assets;
- New net lease acquisition opportunities become exclusively available for the company's balance sheet;
- Simplified disclosure and communication with the investment community; and
- Remains well positioned to potentially acquire the net lease assets currently owned by the CPA® REITs, which it has acquired and managed on their behalf.