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Hanesbrands sells warehouse for $23.5M, will lease it back
Friday, January 29, 2010

The Business Journal

By Laura Youngs

Rural Hall - A Pennsylvania investment firm has bought a Hanesbrands Inc. distribution center for $23.5 million and will lease it back to the apparel maker.

Winston-Salem-based Hanesbrands recently sold its 930,451-square-foot distribution center in the Northridge Business Park off of U.S. 52 in Rural Hall, to Winston-Salem NC Associates LP, according to Forsyth County real estate records.

Winston-Salem NC Associates is owned by Blue Bell, Penn.-based Capital Solutions Inc.  Fran Donato, principal at Capital Solutions, declined to discuss the details of the deal, but said the purchase is being financed by a combination of company funds and bank loans.

Matt Hall, Hanesbrands spokesman, said that the deal allows Hanesbrands to lease the building for the next 12 years while continuing to operate the distribution center.  He declined to provide lease terms.

Hall said the sale is part of  a longer-term strategy for Hanesbrands to free up cash, primarily to pay down debts and have funds for possible future acquisitions.

"It's a smarter financial strategy for the company," he said.

Hall said the facility, which has about 100 employees, distributes blank T-shirts throughout the U.S. to screen printers, brokers and other clients.  The sale does not affect the nearby catalog and online orders distribution center, which has about 450 employees.

Brokers John Schultz, Hap Royster, and William Woltz at High Point-based Triad Commercial Properties represented Hanesbrands.