NEW YORK CITY —Global real estate advisory firm Savills Inc. has acquired T3 Advisors, which provides site selection, project management and strategic planning services for life sciences and tech users. T3 Advisors, which was founded in 2001 and has offices in Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Palo Alto, will rebrand as T3 Advisors, A Savills Company. Roy Hirshland, CEO and founder of T3 Advisors, will become a vice chairman at Savills and will continue to lead the company. In addition, T3 Managing Partners Austin Barrett, David Bergeron and Mark Cote will become executive vice presidents and continue in their leadership roles with Savills.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Washington Prime Group (NYSE: WPG), an Ohio-based owner-operator of regional malls and shopping centers, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. WPG cited insurmountable operating challenges tied to the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary catalyst behind the move. Against that backdrop, both CNBC and Reuters reported that many of the company’s tenants were unable to pay rent at various points in time over the last 16 months as public health mandates and lockdowns decimated foot traffic throughout the brick-and-mortar retail market. The company, which was originally spun off by Simon Property Group in 2014, has negotiated a restructuring support agreement with its primary creditors, led by Connecticut-based private equity firm SVP Global, which hold approximately 73 percent of WPG’s outstanding corporate debt. The agreement also allows WPG to deleverage its balance sheet by nearly $950 million through the equitization of unsecured notes and a $190 million paydown of WPG’s revolving credit and term loan facilities. Lastly, the RSA provides for an effective four-year extension of the remaining credit facility debt. In addition, WPG has secured $100 million in debtor-in-possession financing to fund its daily operations as it …
NEW YORK CITY AND OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Blackstone (NYSE: BX) has entered into a definitive acquisition agreement with QTS Realty Trust (NYSE: QTS), a data center real estate investment trust, in an all-cash transaction valued at $10 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, the parties expect that QTS will continue to be led by its senior management team and maintain its corporate headquarters in Overland Park. QTS has a diverse footprint spanning more than 7 million square feet of owned data centers across 28 markets in North America and Europe, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, the Netherlands, Northern Virginia, Overland Park, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix and Southern California. The decision by Blackstone follows several high-profile acquisitions in other niche real estate property sectors. Since January 2020, the New York City-based firm’s dealings have included a joint venture with Starwood Capital to buy hotelier Extended Stay America for $6 billion; the $3.4 billion acquisition of a life sciences portfolio in metro Boston; a joint venture with Hudson Pacific to develop movie studios and creative offices in Hollywood, Calif.; and a $4.6 billion partnership with MGM Growth Properties to buy the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay casinos in Las Vegas. …
LOS ANGELES — Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), one of the top soccer teams in the world, has opened a permanent retail store within Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles. In partnership with apparel retailer Fanatics, the sports club is expanding its global retail presence with several new stores in key international markets, beginning with the Los Angeles location. The store openings form part of a 10-year retail and merchandising deal signed between PSG and Fanatics in 2020. Fanatics, which is part owner of Lids, will tap into Lids’ physical retail experience to open and operate the new Westfield store.
EVANSVILLE, IND. AND CHICAGO — Old National Bancorp (Nasdaq: ONB) and First Midwest Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: FMBI) have entered into a definitive merger agreement valued at $6.5 billion. The two Midwest institutions operate retail bank branches under the Old National Bank and First Midwest Bank brands, respectively. The all-stock transaction is expected to close late this year or early 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and shareholder approvals. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the merger agreement. The “merger of equals” arrangement will allow the banks to compete against other banks and lenders in the Midwest for new business, as well as give both organizations the ability to scale and retain their existing personnel and client base. The combined company will be the sixth-largest bank with headquarters in the Midwest. The transaction calls for First Midwest stockholders to receive 1.1336 shares of Old National common stock for each share of First Midwest common stock they own. Following completion of the transaction, former First Midwest stockholders are expected to collectively represent approximately 44 percent of the combined company. This values First Midwest currently at $2.5 billion, according to Market Watch. The combined assets …
SAN FRANCISCO — Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), the parent company of Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta, released its first-quarter 2021 fiscal report showing net sales reached $4 billion, up 8 percent over first-quarter 2019. Additionally, comparable sales were up 28 percent year-over-year and rose 13 percent since pre-pandemic 2019. The company showed strong increases in net sales at Old Navy and Athleta — 27 percent and 56 percent increase over 2019, respectively. There were declines in net sales at Gap Global (16 percent) and Banana Republic Global (29 percent). Old Navy’s comparable sale were up 35 percent year-over-year and 25 percent versus 2019. Additionally, Athleta reported 113 percent digital growth compared to the first quarter of 2019, with comparable sales up 27 percent year-over-year and 46 percent versus 2019. Overall, first-quarter online sales for Gap Inc. grew 82 percent versus first-quarter 2019 and represented 40 percent of the total business. Store sales declined 16 percent compared to first-quarter 2019, primarily due to store closures and COVID lockdowns outside of the United States. Currently, Gap has 3,571 store locations in more than 40 countries, with the company operating 2,997 of them.
LOS ANGELES AND DENVER — A subsidiary of Los Angeles-based Ares Management has agreed to acquire 100 percent of Denver-based Black Creek Group’s U.S. real estate investment advisory and distribution business. Black Creek Group had approximately $11.6 billion assets under management as of March 31 in core/core-plus real estate strategies across two non-traded REITs and various institutional fund vehicles and spanning industrial, multifamily, office and retail property types. Additionally, the firm’s senior management team has an average of 25 years of experience in sourcing, acquiring, operating and developing properties in the United States. The transaction is expected to expand the Ares Real Estate Capital’s existing capabilities and product offerings. The buyers says the deal will also broaden its real estate platform with vehicles that complement the firm’s existing real estate debt and U.S. and European value-add and opportunistic funds. The combined real estate group will have approximately $29 billion assets under management and the transaction will boost Ares’ non-traded REIT capital by $5.1 billion. Upon closing, key members of the Black Creek leadership team will remain in place and become part of the Ares Real Estate Group, which Bill Benjamin leads. “[This transaction] further scales our real estate business, expands …
BALTIMORE — Athletic apparel giant Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) has reported $1.3 billion in sales in its fiscal first quarter of 2021, a 35 percent jump from last year’s first-quarter sales. The Baltimore-based company’s fiscal first quarter ended on March 31. Under Armour’s earnings in the quarter totaled 16 cents per share, which far surpasses the 3 cents expected by analysts, according to CNBC. The company reported an increase of $1.26 billion in revenue from the $930.2 million recorded in the first quarter of 2020. Additionally, the brand’s net income increased to 17 cents per share, or $77.8 million. Last year, the company experienced a loss of $589.7 million. Under Armour expects its sales to increase by 70 percent in the second quarter compared with second-quarter 2020, the period in which the U.S. economy took the full brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 31, Under Armour operated 426 stores. Under Armour’s stock price closed on Wednesday, May 19 at $18.26 per share, up from $7.70 a year ago, a 57.8 percent increase.
NEW YORK CITY — Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) reported approximately $4.7 billion in net sales for its 2021 fiscal first quarter that ended on May 1, an increase of about 56 percent from $3 billion in net sales during that period last year. Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette cited the windfalls of federal stimulus funds and the expanding vaccine rollout as key to the company exceeding expectations. In addition, Gennette said that more Macy’s customers are engaging with its online platform, enabling the New York City-based retailer to post a 34 percent increase in digital sales from the first quarter of 2020. Macy’s has revised its full-year guidance and is now projecting to generate between approximately $21.7 billion and $22.2 billion in net sales this year; previously it had estimated that range to be roughly $19.7 billion to $20.7 billion. Macy’s stock price opened at $19.44 per share on Tuesday, May 18, up from $5.55 per share a year ago.
SEATTLE — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is planning to hire 75,000 employees in its fulfillment and logistics network across the U.S. and Canada as the company continues to expand its footprint. Hiring is currently underway with the most openings in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin. Amazon also announced pay increases across its fulfillment and transportation networks with these roles offering an average pay of more than $17 per hour, plus sign-on bonuses in many locations of up to $1,000. Additionally, the company offers full-time employees benefits, including health, vision and dental insurance, 401(k) with 50 percent company match, paid parental leave and access to various company-funded learning opportunities that includes Amazon’s Career Choice program, which prepays 95 percent of tuition for courses in high-demand fields. Amazon is also offering $100 to any new hires who show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations. In late March, the company began rolling out on-site vaccination events at fulfillment centers in Missouri, Nevada and Kansas. The program has now expanded to more than 250 locations across the U.S. and Canada and offers access to the COVID-19 vaccine for more than half a million front-line employees, contractors …