Company News

Americold Acquires Cold Storage Owner Agro Merchants Group for $1.7B

by John Nelson October 13, 2020

ATLANTA AND SCHIPHOL, NETHERLANDS — Americold Realty Trust (NYSE: COLD) has agreed to acquire Agro Merchants Group, a privately held cold storage warehouse owner based in The Netherlands, for $1.74 billion. Atlanta-based Americold entered into the agreement with Agro Merchants’ owner, an investor group led by funds managed by Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management LP. The move will give Americold its first cold storage properties in Europe. Agro Merchants, which has its North American headquarters in Alpharetta, Ga., owns and operates 46 cold storage properties in 10 countries. The company is the fourth largest cold storage owner in the United States and third largest in Europe. Agro Merchants serves more than 2,900 customers across multiple industries. “We are confident that by joining Americold, we will accelerate our growth and by combining our complementary networks, we will be able to provide a more comprehensive range of solutions to customers around the world,” says Carlos Rodriguez, CEO of Agro Merchants. Americold is the only publicly traded REIT specializing in cold storage, which is seeing an influx of investment and leasing demand since the onset of the pandemic. According to a June report from Vyzn Research, the global cold storage sector is estimated …

October 13, 2020

Acquisitions California Company News Office Western

Allianz Real Estate Buys Stake in 221 Main Street Office Building in San Francisco for $180M

by Amy Works October 12, 2020

SAN FRANCISCO — Columbia Property Trust and Allianz Real Estate have completed the formation of a joint venture to recapitalize 221 Main Street, a LEED Platinum- and Energy Star-certified office building in San Francisco’s South Financial District. Allianz contributed $180 million in cash for a 45 percent ownership in the joint venture, which values 221 Main Street at $400 million. Columbia will retain a 55 percent ownership stake in the property, function as general partner for the venture and continue to oversee day-to-day operations of the asset. Acquired by Columbia in 2014, 221 Main Street features 381,000 square feet of office space, Bay views and abundant outdoor space. The property is fully leased, primarily to tech tenants such as DocuSign and Prosper Marketplace. With this transaction, Columbia and Allianz now own five properties as joint venture partners. The joint venture portfolio has a collective gross asset value of $2.3 billion.

October 12, 2020

Company News Retail Southeast Tennessee

Dollar General to Launch New Retail Concept Targeting Wealthier Shoppers, Nashville to House First Stores

by Alex Tostado October 9, 2020

GOODLETTSVILLE, TENN. — Dollar General will launch popshelf, a new shopping concept that will offer seasonal and home décor, health and beauty must-haves, home cleaning supplies, party goods and entertaining needs. The Goodlettsville-based retailer says 95 percent of the items will be priced at $5 or less. Each popshelf location will average 9,000 square feet and will house up to 15 employees. The first two locations will open near Nashville this fall with the company expecting to open another 30 locations by the end of fiscal year 2021, which will be Jan. 29, 2021. According to Dollar General, initial targeted customers are primarily female and are located in diverse suburban communities with a total household annual income ranging from $50,000 to $125,000.

October 9, 2020

Company News Hospitality Massachusetts Northeast

Service Properties Trust Terminates Management Agreements for 122 Marriott Hotels

by Taylor Williams October 9, 2020

NEWTON, MASS. — Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ: SVC), a hospitality management firm based in metro Boston, has terminated its management agreements with Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) for 122 hotels. Pursuant to its agreement with Marriott, Service Properties Trust is selling 24 of the 122 Marriott-branded hotels, including eight TownePlace Suites hotels totaling 834 rooms; 13 Courtyard by Marriott hotels totaling 1,813 rooms; and three Residence Inn hotels totaling 342 rooms. The eight TownePlace hotels are scattered across four states and will be sold for $45.3 million, and the 16 Courtyard and Residence Inn hotels feature locations across nine states and will be sold for $107.8 million. The majority (89) of the other hotels will be transferred to Sonesta on January 31, 2021 and operated under Sonesta’s various brands moving forward.

October 9, 2020

Company News Restaurant Retail Southeast Tennessee Top Stories

Ruby Tuesday Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection, Closes 185 Restaurants

by Katie Sloan October 9, 2020

MARYVILLE, TENN. — Ruby Tuesday Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with plans to permanently close 185 restaurants that were shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s 236 open locations will remain operational throughout the reorganization process. The Maryville, Tennessee-based chain is the latest restaurant group to fall victim to the economic pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic. California Pizza Kitchen filed for Chapter 11 protection in July citing similar struggles. “This announcement does not mean ‘Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday’ — this is ‘Hello, to a stronger Ruby Tuesday’,” said CEO Shawn Lederman in a statement Wednesday, playing off the lyrics to the popular Ruby Tuesday song recorded by The Rolling Stones, which was released prior to the company’s founding in 1972. In response to the pandemic, Ruby Tuesday implemented a number of new practices including an expansion of third-party delivery and off-premise services, the introduction of a virtual kitchen initiative and the launch of ‘Ruby’s Pantry,’ an option which allows customers to purchase uncooked food, groceries and other essentials for delivery through the company’s website. With in-store dining historically representing over 90 percent of the company’s total sales, these initiatives are expected to play a part in Ruby’s Tuesday’s …

October 9, 2020

California Company News Western

Two Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REITs Merge to Form $2B Company

by Amy Works October 6, 2020

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles-based Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT has completed its previously announced merger with Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT II in a stock-for-stock transaction, creating a combined company with more than $2 billion in gross real estate and real estate-related assets. The new company has retained the name Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT. “We believe the merger creates a stronger and more robust company, and provides significant benefits to stockholders, including improved access to capital markets and reduced operating costs,” says Keith Hall, CEO and a director of Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT. Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor to Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT’s special committee of the board of directors and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey acted as financial advisor to Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT II’s special committee of board of directors. Morrison & Foerster LLP, Rogers & Hardin LLP and DLA Piper LLP (US) served as legal counsel in the transaction.

October 6, 2020

Company News Retail Southeast Tennessee Top Stories

Regal Cinemas to Temporarily Suspend All U.S. Theater Operations Beginning Oct. 8

by Taylor Williams October 5, 2020

KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Regal Cinemas will temporarily suspend operations at all of its 536 U.S. theaters beginning Thursday, Oct. 8. British owner-operator Cineworld (LON: CINE) owns Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal Cinemas, which has about 7,000 screens across its U.S. portfolio of theaters. Cineworld also announced plans to close all of its theaters in the United Kingdom this week. The closures will impact about 40,000 employees, according to Cineworld. “This is not a decision we made lightly, and we did everything in our power to support a safe and sustainable reopening in the United States,” says Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld. “From putting in place robust health and safety measures at our theaters to joining our industry in making a collective commitment to the CinemaSafe protocols to reaching out to state and local officials to educate them on these initiatives, we are grateful for and proud of the hard work our employees put in to adapt our theaters to the new protocols,” he adds. While theaters in several major markets, most notably New York City, remain closed, many large cities have permitted theaters to reopen at limited capacities in recent weeks. Venues located in Manhattan’s famous Broadway District that showcase plays also …

October 5, 2020

California Company News Retail Western

Media Reports: Disney to Lay off 28,000 Employees at Theme Parks in California, Florida

by Alex Tostado September 30, 2020

BURBANK, CALIF. — The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) will lay off 28,000 employees who were previously furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to multiple media reports. Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., both closed in mid-March due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Disney’s chief financial officer Christine McCarthy said in May that for every two weeks the parks were closed, the company lost $500 million. Disney World reopened in July with limited capacity, but Disneyland remains closed under California guidelines. A timeline for reopening has not been established. Disney chairman Josh D’Amaro sent a letter to employees Tuesday, Sept. 29 notifying workers of the impending layoffs. The letter does not disclose how many layoffs the company expects to make, but he says in the letter that layoffs will affect executive, salary and hourly roles. “Earlier this year, in response to the pandemic, we were forced to close our businesses around the world. Few of us could have imagined how significantly the pandemic would impact us — both at work and in our daily lives,” D’Amaro said in the letter. “We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived, and that we would recover quickly and …

September 30, 2020

Company News New Jersey New York Northeast

New York-Based HVAC Firm Gil-Bar Industries Acquires GBS Limited

by Taylor Williams September 29, 2020

NEW YORK CITY — New York-based HVAC design and engineering firm Gil-Bar Industries has acquired GBS Ltd., an air conditioning contractor based in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. As part of the deal, Metro Air Products NJ, a Gil-Bar Industries affiliate, will join the GBS Ltd. team and Gil-Bar’s New Jersey operations as a single entity that will be known as Gil-Bar Sales NJ. Former GBS principal Greg Peifer will join Gil-Bar as sales manager of a new Gil-Bar office in Philadelphia.

September 29, 2020

Company News New York Northeast

New York-Based J.S. Held Acquires Examine Construction Consultants

by Taylor Williams September 28, 2020

JERICHO, N.Y. — J.S. Held, a global consulting firm based in Jericho, New York, has acquired Examine Construction Consultants, a firm with multiple offices in Canada that provides construction services on projects throughout North America and France. J.S. Held provides a range of real estate-related services, including property damage assessment, water and fire restoration consulting, equipment consulting and forensic architecture and engineering. Examine, which also has an office in Paris, joins a team that comprises more than 1,000 consultants around the world.

September 28, 2020

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