News for 'MASG' - (Mooney Airplane Company Signs 30-Year Low-Cost Lease
With Airport in Kerrville, Texas)
KERRVILLE, Texas, Mar 1, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mooney Airplane Company,
wholly owned subsidiary of Mooney Aerospace Group Ltd. (OTCBB:MASG), has
entered
into a new lease for its buildings and land in Kerrville, Texas. Mooney,
the
City of Kerrville, the Kerr County Commission and the Kerrville Airport
Authority have been negotiating for several months according to Mooney
President, J. Nelson Happy. "The new lease will be effective for 30 years
and
adds considerable stability to Mooney's operation. Our old leases were
fragmented, covered too much land and only had nine years left to go. We
were
reluctant to make investments in the physical plant without a long-term
lease.
The new lease rate is only $1,434 per month for the first 10 years, about
2.5
cents per square foot, then escalates to about $3,263 per month for the
next
10-year term. The final 10-year term will be at $6,527 per month. This is
very
reasonable rent, and Mooney retains title to all of our buildings and
fixtures
for the entire 30-year term," according to Happy. The base rent escalates
annually based on the CPI.
The terms of the new agreement reduced Mooney's leased acreage from 51
acres to
the 17 acres the company actually uses. "This will drastically cut our tax
burden and eliminate the need for Mooney to maintain several old
deteriorated
buildings. We are keeping a right of first refusal on the surplus property
for
10 years just in case we need it, but I don't foresee any possibility that
we
will need more than our core 17 acres," Happy stated.
Kerr County Judge Pat Tinley described the lease as a win-win situation
for
everybody. "I think this is a great step, frankly," he said. "The
cooperation
between all the entities showed a lot of good communication."
"We were very pleased by the efforts of Kerrville City Manager Ron
Patterson and
Airport Manager David Pierce who worked long and hard to make this new
lease
happen," Happy observed. "In fact Mayor Stephen Fine and the entire City
Council
and County Commission worked efficiently to expedite this new lease."
Sam Rothman, Mooney's board chairman, commented: "We were gratified by the
support we received from the Kerrville governmental units. They worked
hard to
make a fair deal for all, and we think the new lease will help maintain
and
increase value for our shareholders. Another important factor for Mooney
was
that our $5 million USDA insured loan required us to have a 30-year lease
in
place by March 31, 2004. This new lease fulfills that condition, and also
provides considerable long-term savings for Mooney. Another plus is that
land
surplus to us can now be leased to other tenants at the airport, which
should
stimulate airport development which is also good for Mooney."
About Mooney Airplane Company
Mooney Airplane Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mooney Aerospace
Group
Ltd., is a general aviation holding company, located in Kerrville, Texas.
Mooney
currently sells five models: the highest performing four-place single
engine
piston powered aircraft, the Bravo DX, which is available with the Garmin
G-1000
glass panel display as the GX; and its stablemates, the highly rated
Ovation2 DX
and GX, and the economical Ovation. Mooney is celebrating its 51st
anniversary
in Kerrville, Texas, this year, where it has manufactured more than 10,000
aircraft, which have been delivered worldwide. Complete information about
Mooney
aircraft is available at www.mooney.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of The
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). In
particular,
when used in the preceding discussion, the words "plan," "confident that,"
"believe," "scheduled," "expect" or "intend to," and similar conditional
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Act and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act.
Such
statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and actual
results
could differ materially from those expressed in any of the forward-looking
statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
market
conditions, the availability of components and successful production of
the
Company's products, general acceptance of the Company's products and
technologies, competitive factors, timing and other risks described in the
Company's SEC reports and filings.
SOURCE: Mooney Airplane Company
CONTACT: Mooney Airplane Company, Kerrville
Terry Freeman, 830-792-2935
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