DALLAS — Blackstone Real Estate (NYSE: BX) has entered into an agreement to sell G6 Hospitality, the Dallas-based parent company of Motel 6, for $525 million. The buyer is Oravel Stays, which owns Indian hospitality and travel technology company OYO, and the all-cash deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter. Blackstone acquired Motel 6 in 2012 and invested in capital improvements to the portfolio during its ownership. Through G6 Hospitality, Blackstone operates nearly 1,500 economy lodging venues in the United States and Canada under the Motel 6 and Studio 6 Extended Stay brands. OYO entered the U.S. market in 2019 and currently operates over 320 hotels across 35 states.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has entered into a sale agreement with Los Angeles-based private equity firm Nexus Capital Management, a deal that would take the Ohio-based discount retailer private. Under the terms of the agreement, Nexus will serve as the “stalking horse bidder” (the approved investor that sets the low-end bar for a bankrupt company) in a court-supervised auction to acquire “substantially all” of Big Lots’ physical assets and ongoing business operations. Big Lots expects to keep the majority of its stores and online platform open and operational during the reorganization process as well as to be able to pay its employees and “certain critical vendors in the ordinary course of business.” The sale is expected to close during the fourth quarter, assuming Nexus is the winning bidder. In connection with this court-supervised process, Big Lots has secured commitments for $707.5 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing, including $35 million in new financing from certain current lenders. Coupled with cash from ongoing operations, the financing is expected to provide sufficient liquidity for the sale process. The announcement comes after multiple reports of an imminent bankruptcy filing for Big Lots, …
SEATTLE — The special committee of the Board of Directors of Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) has confirmed receipt of a proposal from Erik and Pete Nordstrom, members of the Nordstrom family, and El Puerto de Liverpool to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Nordstrom, other than shares held by members of the Nordstrom family and Liverpool, for $23 per share in cash. If accepted, the deal would take the publicly traded company private. The proposal would be financed through a combination of rollover equity and cash commitment by members of the Nordstrom family and Liverpool and $250 million in new bank financing, with the existing indebtedness of the company to remain outstanding. There is no assurance that the company will pursue this transaction, and Nordstrom does not intend to disclose further developments regarding the proposal until further disclosure is determined to be appropriate or necessary. Morgan Stanley & Co. and Centerview Partners are acting as financial advisors to the special committee, and Sidley Austin LLP and Perkins Coie LLP are acting as legal counsel. Seattle-based Nordstrom’s stock price closed at $22.60 per share on Thursday, Sept. 5, up from $14.90 one year prior.
Company NewsIndustrialNorth CarolinaNortheastPennsylvaniaProperty TypeSelf-StorageSoutheastTop Stories
Go Store It, Snapbox Merge, Creating 10 MSF Self-Storage Giant
CHARLOTTE, N.C. AND PHILADELPHIA — Go Store It Self Storage and Snapbox Self Storage have merged. The combined company is now one of the largest private self-storage operators in the United States, according to a press release issued by the companies. Operating under the Go Store It Self Storage brand name, the new entity will oversee a portfolio totaling more than 10 million square feet of storage space across 145 locations in 23 states. Executive leadership will include Ryan Hanks and Jake Ramage as chief executive officers (CEOs), with Matt Lang serving as president. The merger is designed to enhance operational efficiency as well as stimulate growth in the areas of acquisition, development and third-party management. Founded in 2013 in Charlotte, N.C., Go Store It is a subsidiary of Madison Capital Group Holdings. Philadelphia-based Snapbox was also founded in 2013. Both companies are FrontRange Capital portfolio companies. FrontRange has invested roughly $100 million in Madison Capital and its affiliates, including Go Store It, and is making a co-general partner (co-GP) commitment to the new entity. — Hayden Spiess
ATLANTA AND SAN FRANCISCO — Atlanta-based Trimont has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wells Fargo’s non-agency third-party commercial mortgage servicing business. The acquisition does not include the San Francisco-based company’s Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac business lines, which Wells Fargo will continue to service, along with the loans remaining on its balance sheet. Värde Partners, a global alternative investment firm, acquired and has owned Trimont through certain funds since 2015. Värde will provide funding for the acquisition, which will enable Trimont to offer servicing across all non-bank commercial real estate lending structures. Following the close of the acquisition, which is expected to occur in early 2025, Trimont will manage more than $715 billion in U.S. and international commercial real estate loans, making the firm the largest commercial real estate loan servicer in the United States. Trimont’s consultants in the transaction include J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (financial advisor), Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (general advisory services) and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, and Trilegal (legal). Wells Fargo Securities LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Wells Fargo, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz served as the company’s legal advisor.
RALEIGH, N.C. AND WASHINGTON, D.C. — Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) has agreed to sell Worldpac, the Raleigh-based company’s automotive parts wholesale distribution business, to funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) for $1.5 billion in cash. Advance Auto Parts operated 321 Worldpac locations primarily within the United States as of the end of the second quarter. These warehouses, 135 of which are branded Autopart International, are generally larger than the company’s retail locations, averaging approximately 26,000 square feet. Worldpac offers over 293,000 parts for domestic and import vehicles and primarily serves professional customers such as vehicle repair shops, with services including same-day delivery of automotive parts through a fleet of company-owned vehicles. Over the past 12 months, these locations generated approximately $2.1 billion in revenue and $100 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). Advance expects to close the transaction before the end of the year, with Advance expecting net proceeds of approximately $1.2 billion after taxes and transaction fees. These proceeds will be used to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and invest in its core retail business, said Shane O’Kelly, president and CEO of Advance Auto Parts, during an earnings call earlier …
LAVAL, QUEBEC AND CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA. — Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., the Canadian parent company of Circle K, has agreed to acquire GetGo Café + Markets from Giant Eagle Inc., a supermarket chain based in Pennsylvania. GetGo operates 270 gas station and convenience store locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. The company staffs approximately 3,500 employees. “We are excited to welcome GetGo into the Couche-Tard family,” says Brian Hannasch, president and CEO of Couche-Tard. “We look forward to growing together as we learn from and continue GetGo’s innovative approaches to serving its local customers and communities.” “We are energized by the potential for both Giant Eagle and GetGo as a result of this transaction,” adds Bill Artman, CEO of Giant Eagle. “This enhances our focus on our core supermarket and pharmacy businesses.” GetGo has multiple retail models, including open-concept stores and standalone kiosks, with an emphasis on “food first.” As part of this transaction, Couche-Tard and Giant Eagle have agreed to maintain and partner together on Giant Eagle’s myPerks loyalty program for customers. Couche-Tard expects the deal to close in 2025 following standard regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed …
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — HanesBrands Inc. has signed a 122,670-square-foot lease at 101 N. Cherry St., a seven-story office building located in Winston-Salem. The global clothing manufacturer plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to the property, which totals 224,900 square feet. Sam Haus, Will Henderson and Tara Alexander of CBRE represented the landlord, Truist Bank, in the lease negotiations. Amenities at the building include parking, a fitness center and onsite security.
RICHMOND, VA. — LL Flooring (NYSE: LL), a specialty retailer of hard- and soft-surface flooring, has commenced voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The Richmond-based company, which operates more than 300 stores and a distribution center in Sandston, Va., will also be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. The retailer plans to use the Chapter 11 proceedings to pursue a “going concern sale” of its business, meaning that LL Flooring’s future buyer could continue the business as usual post-transaction. LL Flooring says it “remains in active negotiations with multiple bidders” and hopes to seek approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware of a sale of its business in the first few weeks of the proceedings. Concurrent with the filing, LL Flooring announced it has reached an agreement with Hilco Merchant Resources LLC to assist the company in store closing sales at 94 locations. AlixPartners LLP is serving as restructuring advisor to LL Flooring, which has received $130 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from its existing bank group led by Bank of America. LL Flooring’s stock price closed on Friday, Aug. 9 at $0.84 per share, down from $3.75 a year ago, a 77.6 percent decline.
ATLANTA — Jamestown, a real estate development, investment and management firm based in Atlanta, has announced plans to purchase the Atlanta-based subsidiary of North American Properties (NAP), a prominent mixed-use developer and operator based in Cincinnati. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but NAP’s Atlanta office had $2 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of June 30, 2024. That portfolio includes nine mixed-use destinations across six states on the East Coast. As part of the transaction, a Jamestown affiliate will make an investment in the platform’s portfolio comprising Colony Square in Midtown Atlanta; The Forum Peachtree Corners in Peachtree Corners, Ga.; Avenue East Cobb in Marietta, Ga.; Birkdale Village in Huntersville, N.C.; Ridge Hill in Yonkers, N.Y.; and Newport on the Levee in Newport, Ky. The acquisition also includes the platform’s real estate services business that manages Avalon in Alpharetta, Ga.; Mercato in Naples, Fla.; and Riverton in Sayreville, N.J. These third-party services will add to Jamestown’s real estate services business, which currently includes 22 projects across 19 cities and 10 countries. “This acquisition will bolster our differential advantage in the market as a vertically integrated, mixed-use operator with a focus on placemaking,” says Michael Phillips, president of Jamestown. …