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.
SEATTLE — Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced financial results for its third quarter ending Sept. 30, posting sales of $96.1 billion, an increase of 37 percent compared with third-quarter 2019. The sales numbers exceeded even the Seattle-based e-commerce giant’s optimistic prediction of $87 billion to $93 billion in sales. Operating income nearly doubled, rising from $3.2 billion to $6.2 billion between the second and third quarter. As the COVID-19 pandemic has raged on, Amazon has reaped benefits as consumers switch from in-person to online shopping. However, that comes with a variety of increased costs as well. In the company’s guidance for the fourth quarter of 2020, it expects to incur $4 billion in COVID-related costs, such as personal protective equipment, enhanced cleaning and increased wages. As a result of the increased costs, Amazon stock actually dropped following the news, falling from $3,248.86 per share at 2:30 p.m. Thursday to $3,094.10 at 9:45 a.m. Friday. On a long-term basis, though, this is a modest fall. The stock price closed at $1,779.99 on Oct. 30, 2019.
SEATTLE — Starbucks Coffee (NASDAQ: SBUX) reports that global comparable-store sales fell 9 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter on a year-over-year basis, but the company’s performance still beat economists’ expectations. Total revenue for the Seattle-based coffee chain reached $6.2 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 27. Economists had expected the total to be $6.06 billion. “I am very pleased with our strong finish to fiscal 2020, underpinned by a faster-than-expected recovery in our two lead growth markets, the U.S. and China,” says Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of Starbucks. “These results demonstrate the continued strength and relevance of our brand, the effectiveness of the actions we’ve taken to adapt to meaningful changes in consumer behavior and the extraordinary efforts of our green apron partners to serve our customers and communities in challenging circumstances.” The latest results are a big improvement from the fiscal third quarter, when global comparable sales plummeted 40 percent year-over-year due to the coronavirus shutdowns. Looking ahead, Starbucks expects same-store comparable growth of 18 to 23 percent and plans to open 2,150 new stores over the next fiscal year. As of Sept. 27, 2020, Starbucks operated 10,109 stores in the Americas. Starbucks’ stock …
DALLAS — CBRE is relocating its global headquarters from Los Angeles to Dallas, according to several media outlets including The Dallas Morning News and The Dallas Business Journal. The real estate giant is expected to provide more information on the relocation as part of its release of its third-quarter earnings report later today, according to The Dallas Morning News. CBRE currently operates three offices in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, with its largest one located at 2100 McKinney Ave. in the Uptown area of Dallas. The company’s top executive, president and CEO Robert Sulentic, has ties to Dallas from his previous executive position at Trammell Crow, which CBRE acquired in 2006.
CANTON, MASS. — Shares of Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) rose by more than 15 percent yesterday as the Massachusetts-based coffee and breakfast chain moved forward with talks to be acquired by Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, the parent company of chains like Arby’s and Jimmy John’s. The New York Post reports that the deal, which would take Dunkin’ private is valued at $8.8 billion. Dunkin’s stock price closed at $89.80 per share on Friday, October 23 and peaked at $104.87 per share in yesterday’s trading before closing just below that mark. Dunkin’ opened at $101.69 per share today, up nearly 30 percent from a year ago. The New York Times reports that Inspire Brands has offered to purchase Dunkin’, which will release its latest earnings report on Thursday, at $106.50 per share.
NEW YORK CITY — Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. (BREIT) has entered into an agreement to acquire Simply Self Storage from an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management for $1.2 billion. Brookfield acquired Simply Self Storage, whose operating portfolio spans approximately 8 million square feet across the country, in 2016 through one of its funds. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as legal advisor to BREIT, and BofA Securities and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are serving as financial advisors to BREIT. RBC Capital Markets LLC, Newmark Group Inc. and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP advised Brookfield. BREIT currently owns a $300 million portfolio of self-storage facilities. Following this acquisition, BREIT will be the third-largest non-listed owner of self-storage in the country. Self-storage, which is typically viewed as a recession-resistant asset class, has seen its rates of absorption and leasing of new units rebound over the summer following a lull in move-in activity that normally occurs in the spring. Self-storage owner-operators expect some of the truncated move-in activity from spring and summer to be offset by the fact that in-person classes at many major universities have …
PHILADELPHIA — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has acquired Philadelphia-based Maher Commercial Mortgage LLC, effectively expanding its presence in the Southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey region. The acquisition will add more than $900 million in annual loan volume and $3 billion in servicing to Bellwether Enterprise’s existing portfolios. Firm leader Thompson Maher will join Bellwether Enterprise as an executive vice president, and his six support staff and five loan producers will also join the acquiring entity.