WINSTON-SALEM AND GREENSBORO, N.C. — Cushman & Wakefield has acquired Triad Commercial Properties, a commercial real estate brokerage firm with offices in Winston-Salem and Greensboro. Hap Royster and Tom Townes founded Triad Commercial Properties in 1999. The firm has arranged sales in 39 states and 10 countries, having experience in areas such as tenant and landlord representation, property disposition, buyer representation, sale-leaseback transactions, portfolio review and analysis, market analysis and build-to-suit analysis in a brokerage and advisory role. Royster, who served as managing partner for the firm, will join Cushman & Wakefield as vice chairman. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND — CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) reported $67.1 billion in revenue for the third quarter, a 3.5 percent increase from that same period a year ago. The company cited the expansion of its healthcare services, particularly its doubling of its COVID-19 testing sites to more than 4,000 pharmacy locations nationwide, as a key driver of growth. According to CNBC, CVS surpassed analysts’ expectations of $66.6 billion in quarterly revenue, prompting the Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based chain to raise its 2020 earnings guidance. The stock price of CVS opened at $63.05 per share on Friday, Nov. 6, down from $69.43 per share a year ago.
WAYNE, PA. — Pet Valu Inc., a specialty retailer of pet food and supplies, has opted to wind down its U.S. operations. The retailer will close all 358 stores in the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, as well as its warehouses and its U.S. headquarters office in Wayne. No timeline for closures was disclosed, but Pet Valu is currently doing final liquidation sales for all its merchandise. Additionally, the retailer is marketing all of its store fixtures, furniture and equipment for sale. Pet Valu Inc. licenses its name from Pet Valu Canada, which is a separate, unaffected entity that will retain its 600 Canadian stores and corporate headquarters office in Markham, Ontario, as well as its e-commerce site. Roark Capital, an Atlanta-based private equity group, purchased Pet Valu in 2009 and merged the retailer with Pet Supermarket in 2016 to form Pet Retail Brands, though the combined company continued to operate its stores under the original brand names of Pet Valu and Pet Supermarket. Pet Valu cites severe impact from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in its decision to wind down operations. According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases since March has totaled nearly 9.5 …
BOSTON — Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W), a Boston-based e-commerce firm specializing in home furniture, reported an increase of 66.5 percent in total net revenue during its third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The company’s impressive year-over-year revenue growth from $1.5 billion to $3.8 billion caused its stock price to shoot up about 13 percent in early-hours trading before closing at $274.11 per share on Tuesday, up from $87.43 per share a year ago. Wayfair reported similar levels of revenue growth in both its domestic and international markets, noting that the size of its customer base had also grown by about 50 percent year-over-year. Wayfair now lists the number of active customers in its direct retail business as 28.8 million. Lastly, the company said that it completed about 15.8 million deliveries during the third quarter, a 72.8 percent increase from that period in 2019.
GREENVILLE AND SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Commercial real estate services firm NAI Earle Furman has merged operations with Pulliam Investment Co., a real estate owner and developer. Pulliam Investment is based in Spartanburg, S.C., and has been in business since 1970. Terms of the merger were not disclosed. Under the new partnership, John Easterling, CEO of Pulliam Investment, will focus on expanding NAI Earle Furman’s seniors housing division and growing the firm’s investment platform. Easterling is the past chairman of the Spartanburg County Transportation Committee and chairman of the City of Spartanburg Planning Commission. He has also served on the Project Design and Architectural Review Committee of the Spartanburg Development Council. Easterling is a graduate of Clemson University with an MBA from the University of South Carolina.
WILBRAHAM, MASS. — FIC Restaurants Inc., which operates the Friendly’s brand, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and entered in an agreement to sell all of its assets to Amici Partners Group LLC. Nearly all of Friendly’s 130 corporate-owned and franchised restaurant locations, known for burgers, sandwiches and ice cream, are expected to remain open subject to COVID-19 limitations. Friendly’s stated that it has sufficient cash on hand to continue operations, meet its obligations to employees, franchisees and vendors. Upon the sale closing, Amici expects to retain most employees at Friendly’s corporate-owned restaurant locations. Amici is an affiliate of BRIX Holdings, an owner-operator whose brands include Red Mango Yogurt Café Smoothie & Juice Bar, Smoothie Factory Juice Bar, RedBrick Pizza Kitchen Café and Souper Salad.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — Against headwinds brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, CBL Properties Inc. (NYSE: CBL) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday, Nov. 1. Chattanooga-based CBL owns and manages a portfolio of 107 properties totaling 66.7 million square feet across 26 states, including 65 enclosed, outlet and open-air retail centers and eight properties managed for third parties. The company entered into an Restructuring Support Agreement in August with a group of bondholders in hopes of restructuring its balance sheet. In its bankruptcy filing, CBL listed its estimated assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, according to reports by CNBC. “With an aggregate of approximately $1.5 billion in unsecured debt, preferred obligations eliminated and a significant increase to net cash flow, upon emergence, CBL will be in a better position to execute on our strategies and move forward as a stable and profitable business,” says the company’s CEO, Stephen Lebovitz. As of Sept. 30, CBL had approximately $258.3 million in unrestricted cash on hand and available-for-sale securities. This cash position, combined with the positive cash flow generated by ongoing operations, is expected to meet the company’s operational and restructuring needs. Weil, Gotshal & Manges …
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as of Sunday, Nov. 1. PREIT (NYSE: PEI), which is based in Philadelphia, owns and operates 22.5 million square feet of retail space including 19 mall properties in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina. PREIT has reached a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with its bank lenders, under which an additional $150 million will be committed to recapitalize the business and extend its debt maturities. The announcement coincides with the Chapter 11 filing of Tennessee-based CBL & Associates (NYSE: CBL), which owns and manages a portfolio of 107 properties totaling 66.7 million square feet across 26 states, including 65 enclosed, outlet and open-air retail centers and eight properties managed for third parties. “Today’s announcement has no impact on our operations — our employees, tenants, vendors and the communities we serve — and we remain committed to continuing to deliver top-tier experiences and improving our portfolio,” says Joseph Coradino, CEO of PREIT. “With the overwhelming support of our lenders, we look forward to quickly emerging from this process as a financially stronger company.” DLA Piper LLP and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are …
ATLANTA AND CANTON, MASS. — Inspire Brands has agreed to acquire fast-food breakfast chain Dunkin’ Brands (NASDAQ: DNKN) in a transaction valued at $11.3 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. Atlanta-based Inspire Brands is the parent company of restaurant chains such as Arby’s, Jimmy John’s, Sonic Drive-In and Buffalo Wild Wings. In addition to its namesake coffee and breakfast chain, Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Brands also owns ice cream parlor chain Baskin-Robbins, which respectively have about 12,500 and 8,000 locations worldwide. Dunkin’ has about 9,600 locations in the United States. The deal’s price tag equates to $106.50 per share, to be paid in cash, and includes the assumption of all Dunkin’ Brands’ debt. The share price represents a 30 percent premium over the Dunkin’ Brands 30-day weighted average price and a 20 percent premium over its closing stock price of $88.79 per share on Friday, Oct. 23. “We are excited to bring meaningful value to shareholders who have been with us on this journey and believe that Inspire Brands, a preeminent operator of franchised restaurant concepts, will continue to drive growth for our franchisees while remaining true to all that is unique and special …
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Yum Brands reported third-quarter revenue of $1.45 billion, up 8 percent from the same period a year ago. Taco Bell reported the highest positive year-over-year growth, recording $501 million in sales, a 2 percent increase from third-quarter 2019. Pizza Hut’s sales also grew, reaching $243 million, a 1 percent increase. Though KFC recorded the highest company sales total, reaching $583 million for the quarter, it was still a 4 percent decrease from the $609 million total recorded in the third quarter of 2019. Additionally, Louisville-based Yum Brands sold its stake in GrubHub, a food delivery service, for $206 million. The buyer was not disclosed.