NEW YORK CITY—In a three-pronged outcome from a singlelarge-scale transaction, American Realty Capital PropertiesInc. has closed on its previously announced $1.5-billionsale-leaseback of approximately 500 Red Lobsterlocations; Darden Restaurants has closed on itssale of the seafood chain to Golden Gate Capital;and Darden's chairman and CEO announced that he would step down atyear's end. All three announcements were made late Mondayafternoon.

For ARCP, the SLB “provides value to our shareholders andsupports long-term earnings growth” thanks to built-in annualcompounded rent gains, says David S. Kay, thenet lease REIT's president. “We are pleased withthe opportunity to partner with GGC, who brings exceptionalexperience in the full-service restaurant industry, as well as theseasoned Red Lobstermanagement team, and have great confidence inthe bright future for this iconic restaurant brand.” It's thefourth partnership between ARCP and San Francisco-based GGC.

When the deal was first announced in May, it came at aGAAP cap rate of 9.9%. “We previously promisedacquisitions at cap rates north of 8% and have done so this year insmall self-originated transactions; now, we have duplicated thateffort on a large scale,” Kay said in May.