Paul Severn and Todd Shutley of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey represented Heidelberg. Todd White and Jeff Ledyard of Macfarlan, and Steve Brookshire of Atlantic Financial Group, negotiated for Macfarlan.

Heidelberg is leasing the asset for 23 years at an undisclosed aggregate rent. However, area industrial brokers familiar with the property, tell GlobeSt.com the estimated value of the leaseback deal is at least $73 million, based on an average effective annual rent of $18 per sf. Using CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s yearend 2002 statistics, Macfarlan officials say the average asking rent in Atlanta's northwest office market is $19.76 per sf.

The $17.2 million acquisition price and the estimated $73 million leaseback figure gives the deal an estimated total value of $90.2 million.

The deal was done at this time because Heidelberg "was under a time constraint to execute a sale/leaseback by the end of first quarter 2003 to meet a business plan," Macfarlan president John Jenkins tells GlobeSt.com. The deal closed in 25 days.

For Macfarlan, the transaction was also timely because "the quality and location of the real estate and a strong tenant like Heidelberg USA make this transaction a perfect fit for our investment platform," Jenkins says. "This property, with Heidelberg's 150-year history, is a perfect match for our investors and tenants-in-common/1031 exchange clients."

The property at 12000 Gutenberg Drive, about 20 miles northwest of Downtown Atlanta, consists of one-story and two-story office, flex and warehouse space.