W. P. Carey Inc. signed an agreement for the sale of as much as $500.0 million of its common shares in at-the-market offerings from time to time.

The diversified net-lease real estate investment trust aims to use any net proceeds to cut outstanding debt, fund future acquisitions and for general corporate purposes.

Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc., BNY Mellon Capital Markets LLC, BTIG LLC, Fifth Third Securities Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are the sales agents under the agreement signed Feb. 27.