Sovereign Investment Company Acquires Five Peoples Bank Locations in Kansas and New Mexico
PRINCETON, N.J., January 8, 2008
Sovereign Investment Company, one of the largest and fastest growing private equity investors providing sale-leaseback capital, today announced it recently completed a sale-leaseback transaction for Peoples Bank, a commercial bank focused on providing a full range of financial services including banking, investment, mortgage, insurance and trust services. Established in 1974, Peoples Bank operates 15 branch locations and is headquartered in Lawrence, KS.
Sovereign completed the Peoples Bank sale-leaseback transaction for 5 branch properties in Kansas and New Mexico. The properties will be leased back for a 15 year period and are Triple-net (NNN) leases. The capital generated by the sale-leaseback will be used for general corporate purposes.
"Sovereign was pleased to assist Peoples Bank with its first sale-leaseback transaction, as part of our new financial services sale leaseback initiative" said Jeffrey G. Hoppen, Chief Investment Officer, Sovereign Investment Company. "Our first bank branch transaction was a $30 million sale-leaseback for a large regional bank, also completed in September. Peoples Bank is Sovereign's second bank transaction and we are actively seeking further opportunities in this sector."
"A sale-leaseback is an effective balance sheet management tool for commercial banks. For smaller banks it can result in a lower-cost funding source, especially in today's credit constrained environment, and can help with meeting regulatory requirements. For larger banks, it can be utilized for many purposes - such as earnings management or to finance acquisitions of smaller banks. Sovereign has a very flexible approach to help banks unlock the potential of the real estate assets on their books."
About Sovereign Investment Company
Sovereign Investment Company empowers owners, operators and developers to capitalize on the value of their real estate through net lease sale-leaseback portfolio transactions. Leveraging the experience of a 30-year investment history, Sovereign invests capital to offer a variety of terms and structures, while providing unparalleled service, pricing and execution for its transaction partners. As one of the largest and fastest-growing private equity investment firms focused on real estate structured finance, Sovereign has provided more than $1 billion in sale-leaseback capital to long-term, net-leased properties nationwide.
