CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Less than a month after entering into an investment agreement with a capital-management company, Susser Holdings LLC, parent company of SSP Partners, announced the sale of 74 of its convenience stores to a real-estate investment trust as part of a leaseback deal, as reported yesterday in a CSP Daily News Flash.
Attempts to contact Corpus Christi, Texas-based Susser Holdings and the new investment partner, Wellspring Capital Management LLC, for comment were unsuccessful. But the $170 million from the store sale piggybacks on an [image-nocss] additional influx of capital from Wellspring Capital Management.
Under the store purchase agreement, SSP Partners is selling the stores to Commercial Net Lease Realty Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Orlando, Fla. The properties are primarily located in Texas and operated under the Circle K brand. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, Susser will lease back the properties for a 20-year initial term under triple-net leases.
The parties expect to complete the acquisitions prior to January 31, 2006, subject to customary closing conditions. Commercial Net Lease Realty anticipates that some of these properties will be held as inventory properties and subsequently sold.
The Susser transaction further establishes [Commercial Net Lease Realty] in the convenience store sector," said Craig Macnab, CEO and president of Commercial Net Lease Realty, and we are especially pleased to be able to provide sale leaseback financing to such a high-quality operator."
Jay Whitehurst, COO of Commercial Net Lease Realty, told Commercial Property News that the company typically holds onto the properties it acquires for some time, but will sell some of the Circle K assets in the near future.
Commercial Net Lease Realty invests primarily in retail properties subject to long-term, net leases with established tenants. As of September 30, the company owned 464 investment properties in 41 states.
Under Susser's agreement with Wellspring, announced in mid-November and previously reported in CSP Daily News, president and CEO Sam L. Susser and the company's management team will continue in their present roles and maintain a significant equity stake in the company. The Wellspring investment is subject to customary conditions, including the funding of the transaction pursuant to existing financing commitments and is expected to close before year-end.
Wellspring is a New York City-based private equity firm that manages more than $2 billion in equity capital. The firm is focused on acquiring companies where it can realize substantial value by contributing management expertise, innovative operating and financing strategies and capital.
Susser operates more than 300 retail convenience stores in Texas and Oklahoma and distributes motor fuel to more than 340 branded dealer units and 25 unattended units through its wholesale fuel division.
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