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Jack in the Box
CaliforniaCompany NewsRestaurantRetailWestern

Jack in the Box to Close Up to 200 Stores, Company to Explore Sale of Del Taco

by Amy Works

SAN DIEGO — Jack in the Box Inc. has announced plans to improve its long-term financial performance across its restaurant system, which includes the closure of 150 to 200 underperforming Jack in the Box restaurants, as well as possible alternatives for its Del Taco brand, which it acquired in March 2022. Jack in the Box will implement a block closure program, which will comprise of approximately 80 to 120 restaurant closures between now and December 31, with the remaining underperforming restaurants closing thereafter, based upon franchise agreement termination dates. San Diego-based Jack in the Box Inc. operates and franchises Jack in the Box, one of the nation’s largest hamburger chains, with approximately 2,200 restaurants across 22 states, and Del Taco, the second largest Mexican-American quick-service restaurant chain by units in the U.S. with approximately 600 restaurants across 17 states.

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AcquisitionsCompany NewsHospitalityMarylandSoutheast

Marriott to Acquire CitizenM Hotel Brand for $355M

by John Nelson

BETHESDA, MD. — Marriott International has reached an agreement to acquire the brand and related intellectual property of citizenM, a hospitality brand based in the Netherlands. The deal is valued at $355 million. The citizenM brand comprises 36 open hotels spanning 8,544 rooms, with properties located in cities such as Paris, Rome, London, New York City and Miami. There are three more citizenM-branded hotels in the development pipeline totaling more than 600 rooms that are set to open by mid-2026. The citizenM select-service lodging brand was founded in 2008. Following closing, the citizenM portfolio will become part of Marriott’s system, with the hotels owned and leased by citizenM subject to new long-term franchise agreements with Marriott. The seller may also receive earn-out payments up to $110 million that are based on the future growth of the brand over a specified, multi-year timeframe. The closing of the transaction is subject to various customary conditions, including U.S. regulatory approval. Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Eastdil Secured acted as financial advisors to citizenM in the transaction.

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Company NewsDevelopmentIndianaIndustrialMidwestOfficeTop Stories

Roche to Invest $50B for U.S. Expansion, Including New Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Facilities

by John Nelson

INDIANAPOLIS — Roche, a Swiss biotechnology company whose U.S. headquarters is in Indianapolis, has announced its intention to invest $50 billion in the United States over the next five years. The investment will include new and expanded life sciences facilities across the country, as well as a new 900,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, the location of which will be announced soon. This project will be a manufacturing facility for Roche’s portfolio of next-generation weight loss medicines. The other new developments will include a gene therapy manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, a new plant in Indiana for continuous glucose monitoring and a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Massachusetts. Roche will also expand and upgrade its existing pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Kentucky, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon and Pennsylvania as part of the investment, as well as expand R&D centers in Arizona, California and Indiana. Roche’s investment is expected to create more than 12,000 new jobs, including nearly 6,500 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs at the new and expanded facilities. The construction timeline for these projects was not announced. Once Roche’s new and expanded facilities come on line, the firm says it will be able to export more medicines from the United States than it …

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AcquisitionsCompany NewsGeorgiaRestaurantRetailSoutheast

Hooters Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Sell All Company-Owned Restaurants to Franchisees

by John Nelson

ATLANTA — HOA Restaurant Group, parent company of restaurant chain Hooters, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, entering into a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) that will facilitate the continued operation of the company’s restaurants under new ownership. Hooters restaurants will continue to operate as usual throughout the bankruptcy process. A partnership between two existing Hooters franchisees, Hooters Inc. and Hoot Owl Restaurants, reached an agreement with Hooters of America (HOA) to acquire more than 100 HOA-owned Hooters restaurants, which, when added with the franchisees’ existing holdings, will account for approximately 70 percent of Hooters’ domestic locations. Upon completion of the Chapter 11 process, all Hooters locations will be franchisee-owned. Hooters Brand Management (HBM) will provide most of the franchise support for the company, including oversight of the national ad fund, the central purchasing organization and franchise development and support. North Point Mergers & Acquisitions represented the buying group, Hooters Inc. and Hoot Owl Restaurants, while Morrison & Foerster LLP is serving as their legal counsel.

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Hyundai
Company NewsDevelopmentIndustrialLouisianaSoutheastTop Stories

Hyundai to Develop $5.8B Steel Plant in Louisiana as Part of $21B U.S. Investment Announcement

by Hayden Spiess

ASCENSION PARISH, LA. AND SEOUL — Hyundai Steel Co., a South Korean steel manufacturer and part of automotive giant Hyundai Motor Group, has announced plans to develop a $5.8 billion steel manufacturing facility in southeast Louisiana’s Ascension Parish. The new steel plant is part of Hyundai’s announcement for $21 billion in U.S. investments between 2025 and 2028. Construction on the plant, which will be capable of producing 2.7 million metric tons of steel annually, is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026 in Ascension Parish. Hyundai Steel is targeting commercial production of automotive steel plates to begin at the mill in 2029. According to a statement issued by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, the new facility is expected to create 1,400 new direct jobs with an average salary of $95,000. Louisiana Economic Development (LED) also estimates that the project will result in 4,100 indirect new jobs.  A large portion of the steel manufactured at the mill will be transported to Hyundai vehicle manufacturing plants throughout the country. Hyundai Steel also plans to open up sales of its automotive steel plates to other auto manufacturers in the United States, Europe and Latin America, according to Seo Gang-Hyun, president and CEO …

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Sell-Pull-Quote
CaliforniaCompany NewsRetailTop StoriesWestern

Forever 21 Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Will Close All U.S. Stores

by Taylor Williams

LOS ANGELES — Forever 21 has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will begin the process of closing all its U.S. stores. According to Reuters, the U.S. store count is about 350. The Los Angeles-based apparel retailer filed over the weekend in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Forever 21 has entered into a plan support agreement with its lenders to begin the voluntary closure process while continuing to look for sales opportunities of existing U.S. assets. Forever 21 was founded in 1984 and had a footprint of more than 800 stores worldwide at the height of its operation. The company also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2019, which led to the company closing 350 stores across the United States and other countries. International stores are not impacted by the 2025 filing. As a relative staple within American mall tenancy, Forever 21 faced new challenges in its post-2019 bankruptcy filing stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and elevated competition from e-commerce brands and platforms. According to CNBC, the company has been hit especially hard by competition from Chinese platforms Shein and Temu. The company’s ownership structure underwent a series of changes between 2021 and 2023, and …

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The-Larkspur-Victor-ID
AcquisitionsAffordable HousingCompany NewsLoansMultifamilyNew YorkNortheastSeniors HousingTexasTop Stories

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Agrees to Acquire Multifamily Mortgage Originator NewPoint Holdings

by John Nelson

NEW YORK CITY AND PLANO, TEXAS — Franklin BSP Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: FBRT), a REIT based in New York City, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NewPoint Holdings JV LLC, a multifamily loan originator headquartered in Plano. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not released. Launched in 2021, NewPoint has an existing servicing portfolio of $54.7 billion, including mortgages for market-rate multifamily, affordable housing, seniors housing, healthcare and manufactured housing properties nationwide. The company operates as both a direct lender and third-party placement provider. NewPoint, through its wholly owned subsidiary NewPoint Real Estate Capital LLC, is one of 19 multifamily originators and servicers approved to make loans on behalf of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The acquisition will now allow Franklin BSP Realty Trust to originate agency mortgage loans. “For years we have been looking to add agency capabilities to the platform,” says Michael Comparato, president of Franklin BSP Realty Trust. “We believe this transaction is the final piece to complete our ‘one stop shop’ puzzle.” The acquisition will …

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AcquisitionsCompany NewsIllinoisMidwestNew YorkNortheastTop Stories

Sycamore Partners Agrees to Acquire, Privatize Drugstore Giant Walgreens in Multibillion-Dollar Deal

by Channing Hamilton

DEERFIELD, ILL. AND NEW YORK CITY — Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity affiliated with private equity firm Sycamore Partners. The total value of the transaction is $23.7 billion, according to WBA, including an equity value of $10 billion, as well as debt, capital leases and potential future payouts from the opioid and Everly Health Solutions COVID-19 testing settlements. Upon completion of the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, WBA common stock will be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market. WBA will continue to operate as a private company under Walgreens, Boots and its portfolio of consumer brands, and also will maintain its headquarters in Deerfield.  The per-share price is valued at $11.45, which represents a premium of up to 63 percent over the WBA closing share price of $8.85 on Dec. 9, 2024, the day before reports came out about a potential sale. Under the terms of the agreement, WBA shareholders will also receive one non-transferable divested asset proceed right (i.e. DAP right) to receive up to $3.00 per WBA share from the future monetization of WBA’s debt and equity interests in …

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Panama-Canal
AcquisitionsCompany NewsNew YorkTop Stories

BlackRock to Acquire Two Panama Canal Ports for $23B

by Hayden Spiess

NEW YORK CITY — An investment group led by asset manager BlackRock has announced a deal to acquire two ports on either end of the Panama Canal for a total of $23 billion, including $5 billion of debt. Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holding, a global conglomerate of ports, infrastructure and telecommunications, is the seller.  The investment consortium, which is doing business as BlackRock-TiL Consortium and also includes BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited, will purchase all of CK Hutchison Holding’s shares in Hutchison Port Holdings and Hutchison Port Group Holdings. The ports involved in the transaction include those of Balboa and Cristobal.  Hutchison Ports was recently awarded a 25-year, no-bid extension to operate the ports, according to AP News. However, an audit of the extension was already underway at the time of the deal.  Upon completion of the acquisition, which must be approved by Panama’s government, BlackRock will have consortium control of 43 ports across 23 countries.  This news follows expressions of concern from U.S. government officials that Chinese influence could affect dealings in the canal. The United States controlled the Panama Canal, as well as surrounding land called the “canal zone,” between 1903 and 1999. The canal took …

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Sambur-Pull-Quote
AcquisitionsCompany NewsNew YorkNortheastTop StoriesUtahWestern

Apollo Agrees to Acquire Bridge Investment Group for $1.5B

by Taylor Williams

NEW YORK CITY AND SALT LAKE CITY — Global alternative asset manager and private equity firm Apollo (NYSE: APO) has entered into an agreement to acquire Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BRDG) in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $1.5 billion. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Based in Salt Lake City, Bridge operates nearly a dozen offices nationwide and has approximately $49 billion in assets under management. In addition to some 13.5 million square feet of industrial holdings, the company’s portfolio includes nearly 65,000 residential units across the market-rate, workforce/affordable housing, seniors housing and single-family rental verticals. Bridge was ranked No. 21 on the American Seniors Housing Association’s (ASHA) 2024 list of largest seniors housing owners. Under the terms of the agreement, Bridge stockholders will receive 0.07081 shares of Apollo common stock for each share of Bridge common stock at closing. Both parties value the per-share price at $11.50, which represents a premium of about 45 percent over the company’s closing stock price of $7.92 per share on Friday, Feb. 21. Upon closing, Bridge will operate as a standalone platform within Apollo’s asset management business. Bob Morse, the current executive chairman of Bridge, will …

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