UNION, N.J. — Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey and will close all remaining stores nationwide. At the time of the filing, the company operated 360 stores across the country under its Bed Bath & Beyond brand and 120 stores under its children-centric buybuy Baby brand. All of those locations, as well as their accompanying e-commerce platforms, will remain open temporarily as the company gradually winds down operations and conducts limited marketing campaigns for some of its assets. To facilitate this process, Bed Bath & Beyond has secured $240 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Dallas-based global investment firm Sixth Street Specialty Lending. The financing will provide liquidity for operational obligations, such as paying employee wages and benefits, maintaining customer programs and honoring commitments to critical vendors. The Union-based home goods retailer announced plans in August 2022 to shutter 150 of its “lower-producing” stores, laying off about 20 percent of its corporate staff in the process. At that time, Bed Bath & Beyond was focused on restructuring its existing debt and had received more than $500 million in new financing to bring that …
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CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. — David’s Bridal LLC and some of its subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Both the brand’s nearly 300 physical stores, as well as its online platforms, will remain open and operational, according to the company. The Conshohocken-based retailer is seeking customary “first-day” relief authorizations from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey to continue payment of employee wages and benefits, maintain certain customer programs and honor vendor obligations. The company had previously filed for bankruptcy in November 2018 and re-emerged under new ownership in early 2019. The retailer’s current ownership group comprises lenders led by global investment manager Oaktree Capital Management. Also in 2019, Brookfield Asset Management acquired a majority stake in Oaktree Capital Management. David’s Bridal has retained Gordon Brothers to assist with inventory sales. The company will also continue to evaluate its physical footprint and explore the sale of some or all of its assets. “Our business continues to be challenged by the post-COVID environment and uncertain economic conditions, leading us to take this step to identify a buyer who can continue to operate our business going forward,” says James Marcum, CEO of David’s …
TORRANCE, CALIF. — DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services has relocated its South Bay office to Pacific Gateway, a 237,145-square-foot office building in Torrance. The 10-story building was built in 1981 and recently renovated. The move, which takes place after 40 years in an office around the corner from the new space, is intended to accommodate the firm’s recent and future growth in the Los Angeles market.
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Office Properties Income Trust Agrees to Acquire Diversified Healthcare Trust in All-Share Transaction
by John Nelson
NEWTON, MASS. — Office Properties Income Trust (NASDAQ: OPI) has entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby the office REIT will acquire all the outstanding common shares of Diversified Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ: DHC), a REIT that owns properties in the medical office, life sciences and seniors housing sectors. The combined company will have approximately $12.4 billion of total gross assets under management, representing 539 properties across 40 states and Washington, D.C. The portfolio comprises about 264 seniors housing communities, 10 triple-net-leased wellness centers and 265 medical office, traditional office and life sciences buildings. About 42 percent of the portfolio is located in the Sun Belt. The RMR Group (NASDAQ: RMR), an alternative asset management firm based in Newton, manages both REITs and acquires properties on behalf of the entities. RMR also makes acquisitions on behalf of Service Properties Trust and Industrial Logistics Properties Trust. RMR Group will continue to manage the new company, which will be rebranded as Diversified Properties Trust and trade publicly on the Nasdaq Stock Market exchange. OPI’s executive team will lead the new company and will keep the firm’s corporate headquarters in Newton. The boards of trustees for both REITs unanimously approved the merger, which is …
LOS ANGELES — Stockdale Capital Partners has created a new open-ended, core-plus healthcare fund that will actively pursue medical office acquisitions. The seed investment was a 147,078-square-foot medical office building located at 2100 West 3rd Street Medical Center in Los Angeles. The space is 99 percent leased to major tenants, including Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Providence Health & Services and AltaMed Health Services Corporation.
Wellstar Agrees to Takeover of Augusta University Hospitals, Pledges $800M Investment for New and Existing Facilities
by John Nelson
AUGUSTA, GA. — Wellstar Health System and Augusta University Health System (AUHS) have reached an agreement where AUHS facilities will come into Wellstar’s network of hospitals and clinics. The most notable affected facility is Augusta University Medical Center (AUMC), a more than 600-bed safety net and teaching hospital. Wellstar will also have a broader affiliation with the university’s Medical College of Georgia, the only public medical college in the state. Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar has also pledged to invest $800 million over 10 years for AUHS facilities and infrastructure, including more than $200 million allocated to AUMC. Additionally, capital for a new hospital, medical office building and ambulatory surgery center in Columbia County and the costs associated with implementing a new state-funded electronic medical records system throughout AUHS will be funded. AUHS will operate under a new name, Wellstar MCG Health, once the deal is finalized later this year. The boards of Wellstar and AUHS and the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia have approved the agreement.
SALT LAKE CITY AND BUFFALO, N.Y. — Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE: EXR), a Salt Lake City-based REIT, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Buffalo-based REIT Life Storage (NYSE: LSI) in an all-stock transaction. According to multiple news outlets including The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, the deal is valued at $12.7 billion. The combined portfolio will yield the largest self-storage operation in the country, with over 3,500 locations spanning over 264 million square feet that serve more than 2 million customers. In announcing the deal, executives of both REITs noted that combining their respective platforms creates opportunities to maximize value for shareholders via additional scaling of third-party management services and access to elevated levels of joint-venture equity and bridge-loan debt for future developments and acquisitions. Under the terms of the agreement, Life Storage shareholders will receive roughly nine-tenths of a share of Extra Space common stock for each share of Life Storage stock that they own. At closing, Extra Space and Life Storage shareholders are expected to own approximately 65 percent and 35 percent of the combined company, respectively. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, and the deal is expected to …
After massive bank runs earlier this month, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) took the reins at two regional banks, Silicon Valley Bank based in Northern California and New York City-based Signature Bank. First Citizens Bank has since agreed to acquire the assets of Silicon Valley Bank. According to the FDIC, 2023 already represents the largest year in bank failures in terms of total assets ($319.4 billion combined between the two banks) since 2008, when 25 banks failed (representing $373.6 billion in total assets). “In a very short timeframe, we’ve now seen two of the biggest bank failures on record, the biggest one of course being Washington Mutual back in September 2008,” said Matt Anderson, managing director of Trepp, a New York-based data analytics firm. “We are in a very fraught period right now. Nerves are very frayed at the moment seeing two large bank failures in quick succession.” The comments came during a Trepp-hosted webinar titled “Bank Turmoil and What it Means for CRE & Capital Markets” on Friday, March 24. The three-person webinar featured panelists Anderson and Dr. Stephen Buschbom, research director at Trepp. Lonnie Hendry, the firm’s senior vice president and head of commercial real estate and …
RALEIGH, N.C. — First Citizens Bank has entered into an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FIDC) to acquire Silicon Valley Bank following the California-based regional lender’s collapse earlier this month. Under the terms of the deal, First Citizens Bank will purchase all loans and certain other assets and assume all customer deposits and certain other liabilities out of receivership from the FDIC. This assumption includes approximately $110 billion in assets, $56 billion in consumer and business deposits and $72 billion in outstanding loans. In addition, First Citizens Bank will receive a line of credit from the FDIC to ensure its own liquidity throughout the purchase process. First Citizens Bank has also entered into a loss-share agreement with the FDIC to provide further downside protection against potential credit losses. First Citizens Bank will not acquire any assets, common stock, preferred stock or debt of SVB Financial Group, the former holding company of Silicon Valley Bank. Frank Holding Jr., chairman and CEO of First Citizens Bank, said in a prepared statement that at the most fundamental level, the acquisition allows his company to scale its platform by adding new lines of business in new markets. He specifically cited the appeal …
NEW YORK CITY — Foot Locker will close more than 400 underperforming stores as part of its “Lace Up” plan, which was announced during a recent call with investors. According to Tony Aversa, senior vice president of global store development, the move is part of a strategy to manage portfolio risk by way of strategic closures. The New York City-based shoe retailer currently operates 2,700 stores, which will be reduced to approximately 2,400 by 2026, a number that also reflects the planned addition of stores in new formats. Despite the closures, Foot Locker intends to increase its aggregate brick-and-mortar footprint by roughly 10 percent to 14.5 million square feet by 2026. Foot Locker will also shift to a focus on off-mall stores, with the goal of having off-mall locations comprise more than 50 percent of its real estate portfolio by 2026.