WP Carey buys televison HQ in Spain for EUR 80m

Corporate sale-and-leaseback specialist WP Carey has acquired the headquarters of Madrid-based Distribuidora de Television Digital S.A.U. (DTS) for EUR 80 mln. DTS is the largest provider of digital pay television in Spain.

The 41,000-m² headquarters in Tres Cantos in Madrid was bought by WP Carey's CPA®:17 Global fund. DTS will remain as tenant in the building for 20 years.

CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) advised the vendor on the deal, while Aguirre Newman advised WP Carey.

DTS is a subsidiary of Promotora de Informaciones S.A. (PRISA) and operates the group's pay TV production and distribution activities. PRISA is listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange, and is the largest media company in the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world.

Adolfo Ramirez-Escudero, executive managing director, Capital Markets, CB Richard Ellis, Spain, said: 'Despite a difficult year for the investment and financing of real estate in Spain, this transaction confirms institutional investors’ interest in these kinds of deals in the Spanish market and is a reminder of the special place that sale and leasebacks hold in Spain.'

'The banks have sold over EUR 8.5 bn of property via sale and leaseback in the last three years in Spain, of which CBRE has advised on almost EUR 5 bn. WP Carey had been out of the Spanish market over the past 10 years but decided to return last year and is now very active. We will see more sale and leasebacks from corporates, just as we saw Eroski, Mercedes-Benz and FCC active this year.'

'This transaction, together with other key deals signed in December, seals CBRE's leading market share position, having advised on more than half of the total commercial real estate investment turnover in Spain in 2010,' he said.

CBRE also advised PRISA in 2008 on the sale and leaseback of its three most emblematic assets: PRISA's headquarters in Madrid; the editorial office of El País; and Cadena Ser's headquarters in Barcelona. The assets were sold to Drago Real Estate for EUR 315 mln.