Sale-Leaseback Deal Cut by Faison Capital, Alcatel USA

Faison Capital Advisors has agreed to a sale-leaseback deal with Alcatel USA to finalize the purchase of a 113-acre, 1.2 million-sf campus in the high-tech Telecom Corridor in Richardson.

The deal guarantees Alcatel use of the property’s two largest buildings for the next 18 months during a relocation transition of 1,500 employees to its new headquarters in Plano. Meanwhile, about 40 acres are being dedicated for new construction for the Collins Technology Park.

The campus is situated along Collins Road at Greenville east of North Central Expressway, making it a high-profile candidate for development. The property abuts a DART light-rail station that is under construction and a number of fiber providers for enhanced infrastructure support.Alcatel’s new USA headquarters consists of property acquired in September 1998 when it bought DSC Communications Corp. The site is located at Coit Rd. and Plano Parkway, where corporate offices are already operational.

The purchase was sealed within 30 days of the assignment despite the sale-leaseback condition required by Alcatel. “This was an extremely complex transaction where we had multiple objectives, a unique set of circumstances for both the property and the property owner, and a demanding timetable,” explains Rich Hughes, senior director of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. who helped arrange the sale for Alcatel. He says the sale-leaseback provided leverage to cut a deal.

One structure on Alcatel’s Richardson campus holds particular significance for Dallas’ old guard who watched the Telecom Corridor evolve from open fields into a high-tech hub for one of Dallas’ busiest office markets. Its simple construction – a low-rise, red brick – offers no telling signs of the significant role it played in the corridor’s birth. Built 40 years ago for Collins Radio, it is the first industrial plant ever built north of LBJ Freeway.

Alacatel USA makes equipment for telecommunications providers to transmit data, video and voice. Alcatel USA is a subsidiary of the French industrial and telecom group, Alcatel, which trades on the NYSE as ALA.