DALLAS-After working the deal nearly 18 months, locally based AIC Ventures has struck an off-market sale-leaseback deal with SET Enterprises Inc. The $13.3-million deal has reeled in industrial deeds in New Boston, MI and North Vernon, IN.

The Warren, MI-based SET Enterprises is a leading provider of metal-processing services, with three leased sites and two owned ones. AIC Ventures offers a "closing for cash" scenario to middle-market manufacturers. "They always thought the capital made sense for them when the timing was right for them to expand," Michael Baucus, a managing partner in AIC Ventures' Chicago office, tells GlobeSt.com. "We've been talking on and off for approximately 18 months. The timing was right this year." Richard Weil, an AIC director and partner in Chicago, packaged the sale-leaseback play, locking in the tenant to a long-term, absolute-net lease.

The just-bought assets are a 117,376-sf building on 9.13 acres at 1 Steel Way in North Vernon and 254,351-sf build-to-suit complex developed in 1988 and 1994 on 17.26 acres at 36211 S. Huron Rd. in New Boston. The Indiana building rose in 1955 and was expanded one time before SET bought it in 1995. It was expanded again in 1995 and 1999. The 290-employee SET leases its headquarters at 28217 Van Dyke Ave. in Warren plus facilities at 21905 Cottage Grove Ave. in Chicago Heights, IL and 8055 B Highland Point Pkwy. in Macedonia, OH near Cleveland.

AIC's MO is to put cash on the table and leverage the deal after the sale-leaseback is done. Baucus says the process to court lenders has just begun. If the schedule holds true to form, AIC will bed down the financials in 90 days for its second acquisition for the $300-milion NL Ventures VI fund.