Lego Enters $58.9 Million Sale Leaseback of North American HQ

Journal Inquirer - January 3, 2006

Lego Systems Inc. has sold its Enfield buildings and leased back space in some of them for its operations, which are the Danish toymaker's North American headquarters, company spokesman Michael McNally said today.

Enfield Town Clerk Suzanne Olechnicki said today that land records identify the buyer as Equity Industrial Enfield Limited Partnership, based in Needham, Mass. The partnership paid $58,880,848 for the buildings in the transaction, which took place Thursday.

Included in the sale were the distribution center and manufacturing plant. "The buildings were recently sold, and we have entered into a long-term lease on those we will continue to occupy, which are Compass House on Taylor Road and the small building on Print Shop Road," McNally said.

Lego in June announced that it would sell its Enfield buildings and lay off nearly 300 of its Enfield workers - roughly 44 percent - through March of this year. Lego also said it will close its Enfield packaging operation and subcontract all warehousing, packaging, and distribution to an international company based in Singapore.

Cuts at its headquarters in Denmark will be even larger, with 75 percent of the 1,200 employees there expected to lose their jobs in 2007, the company announced. The layoff decision was part of the company's ongoing efforts to slash business costs, Lego officials said. Sphere: Related Content