Dahl’s Foods Inc. sold four Des Moines-area properties in a sale-leaseback deal that the grocer said is popular among all types of retailers.

Operating as Foods Inc., the company sold buildings and land at 3425 Ingersoll Ave., 4121 Fleur Drive and 1819 Beaver Ave. in Des Moines for a total of $19.5 million, according to Polk County officials. The Dahl’s store at 5440 N.W. 86th St. in Johnston sold for $8.4 million.

Used by property owners as an alternative to conventional financing, sale-leaseback transactions are typically designed to provide for amortization of the purchase price over the term of the lease, in addition to a specified return rate on the buyer’s investment, according to an article published in the CCIM Institute’s Commercial Investment Real Estate Magazine.

“It’s a very popular thing to do,” said Dean Longnecker, Dahl’s chief financial officer. “It’s very similar to mortgage financing, except sometimes you can get a better rate.”

Dahl’s, which according to its website operates 12 supermarkets in Greater Des Moines, has signed long-term leases to continue occupying the four stores, which Longnecker said were sold to an unrelated institutional investor.

The buyers were listed as four limited liability corporations with the name Cole AW Des Moines IA LLC. No other terms of the agreement were disclosed.

Sale-leaseback contracts often include options for the tenant to renew its lease or, in some cases, repurchase the property, according to the CCIM Institute. The typical transaction consists of a triple-net-lease arrangement with a term of 20 to 30 years.

“This is the first time Dahl’s has done a sales-leaseback,” Longnecker said. “The money was used to pay down existing debt.”

The Ingersoll store, which was recently remodeled and expanded and will soon include a Dahl’s Fuel Store, sold for $13 million.