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Company NewsFloridaRetailSoutheastTop Stories

Red Lobster to Sell Assets to Creditors in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing

by Taylor Williams

ORLANDO, FLA. — Red Lobster has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. The Orlando-based seafood restaurant chain plans to sell its business to an entity formed and controlled by its existing lenders. Red Lobster, which was founded in 1968 and operates some 600 restaurants across North America, has received a $100 million debtor-in-possession financing commitment from its existing lenders to facilitate this plan. The company stated that it would use the financing and bankruptcy proceedings to drive operational improvements, simplify the business through a reduction in locations and pursue a sale of substantially all its assets. Earlier this month, Red Lobster announced that it would be closing between 50 and 100 restaurants nationwide, a statement that fueled speculation on an imminent bankruptcy filing. Restaurants that were not included in this announcement from earlier in May will remain open throughout the bankruptcy proceedings, and the company says that it is continuing to work with its existing vendors to minimize operational disruption. CNN reports that, at the time of the bankruptcy filing, Red Lobster listed more than $1 billion in debt and less than $30 million in cash on hand. …

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WeWork
Company NewsGeorgiaOfficeSoutheast

WeWork to Close Five Locations in Atlanta

by Hayden Spiess

ATLANTA — Flexible workspace provider WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last year, has completed its real estate restructuring in Atlanta, according to a press release from the company. The process, as in other cities, involved lease renegotiations with landlords. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that WeWork now plans to close five of its 11 Atlanta locations. In April, the company announced a new $450 million investment to support operations throughout its Chapter 11 proceedings. WeWork’s current portfolio includes more than 24 million square feet of space across 330 locations globally. 

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Company NewsNortheastPennsylvaniaRetail

Reports: Rue21 to Close All Stores Following Bankruptcy Filing

by Taylor Williams

WARRENDALE, PA. — Rue21, an apparel and accessories retailer based in the Pittsburgh area, has filed for bankruptcy and will close all its stores in the coming months, according to reports from multiple news organizations such as CNN, Reuters and The Business Journals. All three of those media outlets report that this is the third bankruptcy filing in the history of Rue21, which operates about 540 stores nationwide, down from more than 1,000 at the height of its existence. Following Rue21’s 2017 bankruptcy filing, the company closed some 400 stores. The Warrendale-based retailer also shed about $700 million in debt at that time, according to Reuters. However, subsequent growth in e-commerce, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, continued to create operational struggles for the retailer. Today, Rue21 has about $200 million in outstanding debt, according to reports from the aforementioned media groups.

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Company NewsHealthcareTexasTop Stories

Steward Health Care Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Sell 31 Hospitals

by Hayden Spiess

DALLAS — Steward Health Care has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Dallas-based company, which has disclosed $9 billion in total liabilities, plans to sell the entirety of its hospital portfolio, according to Reuters. The portfolio comprises 31 hospitals throughout the U.S. Steward hopes to complete all transactions by the end of this summer, with auctions scheduled for June 28 and July 30.  In a press release, Steward attributes the decision to file for bankruptcy to “challenges created by insufficient reimbursement by government payors as a result of decreasing reimbursement rates while at the same time facing skyrocketing labor costs, increased material and operation costs due to inflation and the continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Steward’s total debt includes $6.6 billion in long-term rent obligations, according to media reports. Medical Properties Trust, which owns the real estate occupied by Steward Health Care hospitals, has provided $75 million in debtor-in-possession financing to Steward, with the possibility of an additional $225 million loan as Steward’s bankruptcy process continues. Hospital leases with the landlord include terms until 2041. Steward hospitals occupy the properties on ground leases, with Medical Properties Trust owning the …

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Company NewsTexas

St. John Properties Opens New Office in Metro Dallas

by Taylor Williams

PLANO, TEXAS — St. John Properties has opened a new office at 7250 Dallas Parkway in Plano. The office is the second in Texas for the Baltimore-based developer following its launch of an Austin office in spring 2022. Raphael Alterman will lead the new office under the title of regional partner. St. John, which primarily focuses on industrial and has a portfolio of commercial assets valued at roughly $5 billion, now operates 15 offices across 11 states.

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Company NewsNortheastPennsylvaniaTop Stories

Fulton Financial Acquires Republic First Bank Following FDIC Auction

by Taylor Williams

PHILADELPHIA AND LANCASTER, PA. — Fulton Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: FULT), a regional lender based in Lancaster, has acquired Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank via an auction overseen by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). On Friday, April 26, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking & Securities seized control of Republic First, closing the bank and appointing the FDIC as receivers. The transfer of ownership of “substantially all” of Republic First’s assets and deposits to Fulton Financial represents a move to protect customer funds, according to the FDIC. Some of the driving forces behind the collapse of Republic First appear to mirror those of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, two regional lenders that went under in March 2023. Those factors include losses on bond holdings that had diminished in value amid rising interest rates, as well as exposure to high-risk loans that are collateralized by commercial and office properties, many of which have struggled to recoup occupancy and cash flows post-pandemic. Relatively speaking, however, Republic First is a much smaller player than Silicon Valley and Signature. At the time of its collapse in late March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank had approximately $110 billion in assets, $56 billion in consumer and business deposits …

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Company NewsDevelopmentIdahoIndustrialNew YorkNortheastWestern

Micron Technology to Receive $6.1B CHIPS Funding for Manufacturing Projects in Idaho, New York

by Jeff Shaw

BOISE, IDAHO, AND CLAY, N.Y. — Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has signed a preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) with the Biden Presidential Administration to receive $6.1 billion in funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to support new microchip manufacturing operations. The grants will support Micron’s plans to invest approximately $50 billion in gross capital expenditures for U.S. domestic memory manufacturing through 2030. These grants and additional state and local incentives will support the construction of one manufacturing facility to be co-located with the company’s existing R&D facility in Boise, as well as the construction of two manufacturing facilities in Clay, a suburb of Syracuse. Micron says the facilities are expected to create approximately 75,000 domestic jobs over the next 20-plus years. In Idaho, this includes 2,000 Micron jobs, 4,500 construction jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs. In New York, this includes 9,000 Micron jobs, 4,500 construction jobs and 40,000 indirect jobs. The two projects, as planned, will represent the single largest private investments ever made in the states of Idaho and New York, according to the company.

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Company NewsOfficeSoutheastTennessee

Reports: Oracle Announces World Headquarters Relocation to Nashville

by John Nelson

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL), an IT company known for its cloud-based products and services, has announced it is moving its global headquarters from Austin to Nashville in a move to focus on the healthcare sector, according to multiple media outlets. Oracle chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison announced the move at the Oracle Health Summit earlier this week, citing the Music City as a “health center.” In 2020, Oracle announced it was moving its longtime headquarters from Redwood City, Calif., to the Texas capital. In 2021, the company purchased a 60-acre riverfront site in downtown Nashville for more than $250 million with plans to develop a corporate campus. In 2022, Oracle bolstered its healthcare portfolio when it acquired electronic medical records company Cerner in a deal valued at more than $28 billion. Oracle also expanded its office presence in Nashville by leasing more than 100,000 square feet at Radius, a nine-story office building in the city’s Gulch district. According to The Tennessean, Ellison says that the riverfront campus underway in Nashville will resemble a city within a city with office buildings, a park, hotel, concert venue, restaurants and a community clinic.

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AcquisitionsCompany NewsMidwestOhioRetailTop Stories

Kroger, Albertsons to Sell 166 Additional Stores in $2.9B Divestiture Agreement Ahead of Proposed Merger 

by Hayden Spiess

CINCINNATI AND BOISE, IDAHO — Cincinnati-based The Kroger Co. and Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos. Inc. have announced plans to sell an additional 166 grocery stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers in a divestiture package. This marks an amendment to an existing agreement with the buyer, which will now acquire a total of 579 stores in a $2.9 billion deal. The original divestiture package was announced in September of last year, in connection with a proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons.  In February, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to block Kroger’s $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons (which was originally announced October 2022), citing anticompetition concerns. The FTC alleged in a press release that a merger between the companies would create a “monopoly” as well as “lead to lower quality products and services” and threaten “the ability of employees to secure higher wages, better benefits and improved working conditions.” The deal would mark the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history, with Kroger and Albertsons operating thousands of stores nationally. Colorado and Washington also filed measures at the state level to block the merger.  The companies hope to assuage the concerns of federal and state antitrust regulators with the enhanced divestiture package. According to …

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Express
Company NewsMidwestOhioRetailTop Stories

Fashion Retailer Express Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Close 107 Stores

by Katie Sloan

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Fashion retailer Express Inc. (OTCMKTS: EXPR) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced plans to close 107 of its 602 stores. The Columbus-based company’s portfolio includes apparel brands such as Bonobos, Express and UpWest Express. As part of the proceedings, 95 stores under the company’s Express banner will be shuttered alongside all 12 of its UpWest Express locations. Express has been battling with soft consumer demand due to slowing spending patterns and increased price sensitivity in discretionary categories, according to Reuters. Further details on the specific locations set for closure were not provided, but closing sales at the impacted locations are anticipated to begin tomorrow, April 23. Business at all other brick-and-mortar locations and online is expected to continue as usual. Express concurrently announced that it has received a non-binding letter of intent from a consortium of investors led by WHP Global to acquire a substantial majority of the company’s retail stores and operations. The investment group includes an indirect subsidiary of Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties. WHP Global, which purchased a controlling stake in the parent company of Toys ‘R’ Us in 2021, has held 7.4 percent ownership in Express Inc. since January 2023.  …

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