Blackstone Group Affiliate Buys Warehouses for $22M

A limited liability company affiliated with the N.Y.-based Blackstone Group LP has bought warehouses in Airport Industrial Park for $22 million total.

BRE/EX TN Properties LLC bought a 449,600-square-foot warehouse at 4460 E. Holmes Road from Exeter 4460 Holmes LLC for $12.1 million. The warehouse was built in 1998 and sits on 21 acres at the northwest corner of Holmes Road and Citation Drive. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2010 appraisal is $12.7 million.

BRE/EX TN also bought a 366,800-square-foot warehouse at 4995 Citation Drive from Exeter 4995 Citation LLC for $9.9 million.

The warehouse was built in 1998 and sits on 33.4 acres on the south side of Southpoint Drive, northeast of the 4460 E. Holmes Road site.

The selling entities for both properties are affiliated with Minnesota-based WelshInvest, an affiliate of Welsh Cos. LLC.

The purchases were financed together with an $18.4 million loan through Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, New York Agency.

WelshInvest’s purchase of the two sites in July totaled $20.6 million, making it the second most expensive sale of 2010 behind the $52.6 million sale of the Crescent Center, also in July. The $22 million Blackstone purchase moves it into the second place spot, bumping WelshInvest’s purchase to third.

An attempt to reach Blackstone was unsuccessful by press time.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Kate Simone

AutoZone Authorizes Add'l Stock Repurchase

Part of its ongoing share repurchase program, AutoZone Inc. will repurchase $500 million of the company’s common stock, making for a total of $9.9 billion since the program’s inception in 1998.

“AutoZone’s continued strong financial performance allows us to repurchase our stock while maintaining our investment grade credit ratings,” said Bill Giles, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Information Technology and Store Development.

“We remain committed to utilizing share repurchases within the bounds of a disciplined capital structure to enhance stockholder returns while maintaining adequate liquidity to execute our plans.”

Just last week, the Memphis-based distributor of replacement auto parts and accessories announced its net income had increased 20 percent during the first quarter of the company’s 2011 fiscal year, which ended Nov. 20.

The report marked the eighth straight quarter of earnings-per-share growth of more than 20 percent and the 17th straight quarter of growth in the double digits.

– Aisling Maki

Petties Pleads Guilty to Contraband Charge

The weapon alleged drug kingpin Craig Petties had in his cell at the Memphis Federal Correctional Institution last year was a shank – or homemade knife – fashioned from a plastic shard from a tray.

Petties pleaded guilty Thursday before U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays to the charge of having contraband in a prison.

Until Thursday’s hearing, no one on any side of the case had revealed what the item was, other than that it was a weapon and it was broadly classified as a firearm.

Petties is scheduled for sentencing on April 1, and he faces a maximum of five years in prison.

Petties will have been in federal prison for three years in January. He’s been in custody since he was captured in Mexico in January 2008.

He could face the federal death penalty in his pending trial on drug, conspiracy, racketeering and murder-for-hire charges. It is the largest and most violent drug organization case ever tried in Memphis federal court.

Petties was indicted earlier this year on two contraband counts for two separate incidents.

He pleaded guilty to one from Oct. 26, 2009, when a random search of his cell at Memphis Federal Correctional Institution showed something hidden in his mattress after a metal detector scan. The mattress was X-rayed and the shank was found hidden in the mattress.

Petties was transferred to a federal facility in Florida after the incident but has since been returned to Memphis FCI.

– Bill Dries

Blood Donors Can Support MCAC During December

Lifeblood donors will have the opportunity to support the Memphis Child Advocacy Center when they donate blood throughout the month of December.

Donors have the option of either receiving a Lifeblood holiday T-shirt as a gift for their donation or having Lifeblood contribute the cost of the shirt to the Memphis Child Advocacy Center, whose mission is to serve children who are victims of abuse through prevention, education and intervention.

Lifeblood experiences lower donor turnout during the holiday season and encourages people to donate if they can.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit www.lifeblood.org or call 888-LIFEBLOOD.

– Taylor Shoptaw

State Notes Changes in Insurance Law

The Department of Commerce and Insurance has reminded consumers about changes in the so-called Medigap law.

The department posted a bulletin this week pointing out that eligibility has expanded.

Beginning in January, under an amendment to a state law, insurance carriers who offer Medigap plans to individuals 65 and older must also offer those same plans to eligible individuals under 65.

Anyone under 65 must be eligible for Medicare due to a disability or end-stage renal disease to qualify.

The bulletin can be found on the insurance division web page at tennessee.gov/commerce/insurance/documents/120110.pdf.

– The Associated Press

Avg. 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rises to 4.83 Percent

Rates on fixed mortgages surged for the fifth straight week, reflecting higher yields on long-term Treasurys.

Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.83 percent from 4.61 percent in the previous week.

Last month, the rate hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent.

The average rate on the 15-year loan also increased to 4.17 percent from 3.96 percent. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.

Rates are on the rise after falling for seven months.

Investors are shifting money out of Treasurys and into stocks. That’s largely on the expectation that the tax-cut plan that Congress is set to approve will spur growth and potentially higher inflation.

Yields tend to rise on fears of higher inflation. Mortgage rates track the yields on the 10-year Treasury note.

The sell-off in the 10-year Treasury note is complicating the Federal Reserve’s efforts to lower interest rates by buying up $600 billion in Treasurys. Some traders had hoped the central bank would boost the scale of its purchases to keep interest rates down.

– The Associated Press