Cap Lease Funding Plans IPO

Capital Lease Funding, New York, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the initial public offering of 20 million shares of its common stock priced at between $9.00 and $11.00 per share.The company said it expects to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and to qualify for real estate investment trust status. The current owners of Capital Lease Funding are company chairman Lewis S. Ranieri, who is widely regarded as the father of the mortgage-backed security; Hyperion Partners; an affiliate of Wachovia Bank; and Capital Lease management. The company said it plans to use the money raised to invest in net lease properties -- in the form of both debt and equity financings -- leased to "high credit quality" tenants. The initial funding for the investments will be through short-term financing, after which the company plans to tap the secured long-term debt market, mostly through collateralized debt obligations.