FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Home furnishing retailer Pier 1 Imports has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in Richmond, Va., according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The filing comes about six weeks after the Fort Worth-based retailer announced that it would close some 450 stores, about half of its total store count. The company is also closing two distribution centers. Pier 1 has entered into a plan support agreement with its term loan lenders, which include Bank of America and Wells Fargo, and is pursuing a sale of the company.
WASHINGTON, D.C. AND ATLANTA — CoStar Group has entered into an agreement to acquire Atlanta-based RentPath Inc. Although the sales price was not disclosed, The Wall Street Journal reports the sales price will be $588 million. RentPath, a digital marketing solutions provider to the multifamily housing industry, is voluntary filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. CoStar is a stalking horse bidder, meaning if another qualifying bid to purchase RentPath emerges, a bankruptcy auction bid will be held. Washington, D.C.-based CoStar primarily focuses on selling real estate data but is continuing its push into the multifamily sector, having previously bought Apartments.com and ForRent.com. RentPath received $74.1 million in financing to remain operational through the sales process.
LUBBOCK, TEXAS — SVN International Corp., a full-service real estate franchisor of the SVN brand, has opened SVN | Westar Commercial Realty in Lubbock. Blake Truett and Bill Young will lead the new office, which will serve the greater West Texas area. The branch will offer services in brokerage, property management, tenant representation, investment sales, development consulting and real estate advisory.
CLEVELAND AND BRECKSVILLE, OHIO — The Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW) plans to develop a new world headquarters building in downtown Cleveland, as well as a research and development (R&D) center in the Cleveland suburb of Brecksville. The company plans to invest $600 million to construct both facilities. The paint manufacturer and retailer’s headquarters building will span 1 million square feet just west of Public Square between Saint Clair and Superior avenues. The R&D center will span 500,000 square feet and will be located off Interstate 77 at Miller and Brecksville roads, 16 miles south of downtown Cleveland. The transition to the new facilities won’t occur until 2023 at the earliest, the company says. Sherwin-Williams previously launched a nationwide search for its new headquarters location before deciding to stay in Ohio, where it has been based since it was founded in 1866. “We currently operate out of a 90-year-old headquarters building that has served us well but is no longer conducive to meeting our future needs,” says John Morikis, the company’s chairman and CEO. “The major planned investment in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio we are announcing today reflects our confidence in the continued strength of the region and its people and …
CHICAGO AND DALLAS — Cushman & Wakefield has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Pinnacle Property Management Services LLC, a Dallas-based apartment management firm. With more than 169,000 units across 839 properties in its operational portfolio, Pinnacle is the third-largest multifamily property management firm in the United States. The firm’s client list includes institutional, private and foreign investors; financial institutions; pension funds; private partnerships; sole owners; and government housing groups. The acquisition will boost Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield’s management division across 20 key U.S. markets, increasing its overall portfolio to 869 million square feet in North and South America. Rick Graf, president and CEO of Pinnacle, will lead the Americas Multifamily Property Management platform for Cushman & Wakefield. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including antitrust approvals.
VIENNA, VA. — The Ratner Cos., the parent company of salon concepts such as Hair Cuttery, Bubbles and Salon Cielo, plans to trim its 844-store portfolio by 10 percent. The company plans to maintain a presence in all existing markets as it looks to shift resources to its best-performing salons. Ratner Cos. cites “intense competition and rising operating costs,” as well as shifting consumer shopping methods, as the basis for its decision. The firm has engaged in discussions with landlords to renegotiate terms or exit some of its leases. In addition to store closures, Ratner is reducing staff at its Resource Center in its home office in Vienna to reflect its lower overall footprint. The majority of impacted staff in the salons have been offered employment at sister salons in their immediate areas, according to Ratner. The store closings will begin this week and continue for several months.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Shelton Granade, Luke Wickham and Justin Basquill have joined the Orlando office of Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap. Granade joins the firm as an executive managing director. Wickham and Basquill join the firm as senior managing director and first vice president, respectively. As a team, the three brokers have closed more than $10 billion in sales. All three brokers were formally with CBRE. “The addition of this outstanding team is another step forward in our growth plan for IPA throughout North America,” said Jeffery Daniels, senior vice president and national director of IPA Multifamily. “Our ability to attract one of the most successful multifamily sales teams in the country is a testament to IPA’s success in creating an entrepreneurial, collaborative culture focused on client service and goal attainment.”
FRAMINGHAM, MASS. — Bose Corp. will close all of its 54 stores in the U.S., as well as many remaining locations in Australia, Japan and Europe in the coming months, totaling 119 brick-and-mortar locations. The Framingham-based company, which specializes in audio engineering, said the closures are due to “dramatic” shifts to online shopping. Bose opened its first store in 1993 and currently has its biggest concentration of stores in the Northeast (10), Southern California (nine) and Florida (seven). “Originally, our retail stores gave people a way to experience, test and talk to us about multi-component, CD and DVD-based home entertainment systems,” says Colette Burke, vice president of global sales at Bose. “At the time, it was a radical idea, but we focused on what our customers needed, and where they needed it — and we’re doing the same thing now.” Furthermore, as smartphones changed the industry, Bose focused on mobile, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi solutions. Today, the company said its major products are being purchased through e-commerce channels, including Bose.com. Bose says it will continue to operate 130 stores in China, the United Arab Emirates, India, Southeast Asia and South Korea. The privately held company said it will not disclose how many …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Multifamily finance firm Walker & Dunlop has announced the formation of a new investment sales team in Austin, which represents the company’s first office in the state capital. Managing directors Matt Pohl and Forrest Bass and vice president Spencer Roy, all of whom previously worked at HFF prior to its acquisition by JLL, will lead the team in the sourcing and execution of multifamily deals. The team will focus on Texas and markets in the Southeastern United States. The office is located at 501 Congress Ave and is open for business.
IRVING, TEXAS — Greystone has purchased C-III Asset Management (C3AM), an Irving-based special servicer, as well as the firm’s $20.7 billion portfolio. C3AM offers fund management, principal investment, mortgage origination, loan servicing, investment sales, property management and brokerage services for its U.S. clients, according to Bloomberg. These clients include third-party portfolio owners, CMBS trusts, CDOs (collateralized debt obligation) and government agencies. The company was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of New York-based C-III Capital Partners LLC. Paul Smyth will lead Greystone’s newly created special servicing group. Smyth, who recently joined Greystone, was the former president of C3AM before taking an executive role at Credit Suisse in New York for the past several years. New York-based Greystone is a real estate lender, investor and advisor in the multifamily and healthcare real estate sectors. The company offers agency, CMBS, HUD, bridge and proprietary financing through its platforms such as Greystone Servicing Co., Greystone Funding Co. and other affiliates.