Harken Inc. has sold and entered into a long-term leaseback of its world headquarters in Pewaukee, in a deal the company says will help accelerate its growth.
Harken, a manufacturer and marketer of marine hardware and accessories, sold its 170,000-square-foot industrial facility located at N15 W24983 Bluemound Road for $15 million to HRKN LLC, a real-estate investment group that is not affiliated with the company. The LLC is registered to Thomas Schafer.
The company’s headquarters building, which includes 30,000 square feet of offices on its second floor, was constructed in 2012 for Harken’s use. The property has an assessed value of about $9 million, according to Waukesha County records.
David Buckley and Jim Barry of Milwaukee-based The Barry Co. brokered the transaction.
Peter Harken, co-owner and founder of Harken, said in a statement that the transaction will help accelerate the growth of the company.
“We will certainly continue to focus on organic growth and plan to stay right here in our home community of Pewaukee,” he said. “With this sale, we may consider some strategic acquisition opportunities in our marine and industrial markets that will put this capital to work.”
Harken has also invested significantly outside of the marine industry in the safety and rescue markets. The company manufacturers products in the U.S. and Italy. Its network includes offices in 48 countries, with group offices in Australia, France, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and in the U.S., which includes the states of Rhode Island, California and Florida.
“This sale-leaseback transaction is indicative of the strength of the industrial and investment markets in southeast Wisconsin,” Buckley said in a statement. “We’re proud to have a relationship with Harken Inc. and that we could structure a deal that satisfied all parties involved.”
Barry said that, to his knowledge, this deal represents the largest industrial sale-leaseback deal in the area so far this year.
