HOUSTON-Less than a year after its acquisition by a Colorado equity firm, a sealant manufacturer has closed a $14.7-million sale-leaseback with WP Carey & Co. LLC for nearly 500,000 sf of real estate assets.
UTEX Industries Inc. and Grey Mountain Partners, a Denver-based equity firm, sold the 55,287-sf headquarters at 10810 Old Katy Rd. in Houston and three manufacturing sites in Conroe, Odessa and Weimar. UTEX has signed a long-term lease for all locations as part of the direct deal.
Grey Mountain Partners acquired the 66-year-old UTEX, which manufactures fluid sealing products, in August 2005. According to Ben Ault, a senior associate with the company, the decision to sell UTEX's real estate assets was a management one. "From a management perspective, it made better sense to deploy the resources to better satisfy customers as opposed to being a landlord," he says. "The company's core competency is manufacturing fluid sealing solutions as opposed to real estate investment."
Ault tells GlobeSt.com that the New York City-based WP Carey got the nod for the sale over other potential buyers because of that its track record. "They're well-respected in the industry and were competitive on terms," he adds.
Gino Sabatini, a WP Carey director, says the acquisition is a good boost to its overall investment portfolio. "The majority of our portfolio consists of manufacturing and office," he says, "and this is well in line with what we typically buy."
Sabatini says there are no plans to make major improvements to any of the facilities. The manufacturing facilities are located at 116 Industrial Court in Conroe, 1104 Market Ave. in Odessa and 605 Utex Dr. in Weimar.
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