WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) has appointed Tom McCormick as its new CEO. McCormick, an industrial specialist based out of Irvine, Calif., has been an SIOR member for 33 years and has served as SIOR global past president, SIOR foundation past president, his local chapter’s past president and most recently as SIOR’s operations director on the board of directors. He is the first SIOR designee to hold an executive position within the organization. McCormick joins SIOR from Rockefeller Group International, where he served as senior vice president of national accounts before retiring a little over a year ago. Prior to that role, he held positions at Coldwell Banker Commercial and Panattoni. “I am thrilled that Tom has agreed to take on the challenge as our new leader,” said Del Markward, SIOR 2018 global president, in a statement. “His commitment and service to SIOR has been demonstrated across the board. Tom’s management skills and depth of knowledge make him a solid mentor and role model for our members, staff and the industry as a whole.” Founded in October 1940, SIOR is a Washington, D.C.-based organization comprising nearly 3,100 industrial and office real estate specialists. The broker network …
CHICAGO — Aries Conlon Capital has rebranded to Mag Mile Capital and is relocating its Chicago headquarter offices from River North to the 84th floor of Willis Tower. Rushi Shah will continue to serve as principal and CEO and retain the same sales team, pipeline and national commercial mortgage and investment banking platform. Shah bought out his partners’ interest in the company to become majority owner. Previous partners include Neil Freeman and Sean Conlon of Aries Capital LLC and Conlon and Co., respectively. The name change is a nod to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on North Michigan Avenue.
CAMP HILL PA. AND BOISE, IDAHO — Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) announced Wednesday it has called off its previously announced merger with Boise-based grocery chain Alberstons Cos. The $24 billion deal, first announced in February, would have allowed Albertsons to go public. Under the terms of the transaction, Rite Aid shareholders would have held a 29 percent stake in the combined company. The integrated company would have operated about 4,900 locations, 4,350 pharmacy counters and 320 clinics across 38 states and Washington, D.C. “While we believe in the merits of the combination with Albertsons, we have heard the views expressed by our stockholders and are committed to moving forward and executing our strategic plan as a standalone company,” said John Standley, chairman and CEO of Rite Aid, in a prepared statement. The merger has faced pushback from a number of stockholders and investors in the months leading up to a shareholder vote over the deal, which was originally scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 9, but has since been called off. In June, Highfields Capital Management, an investment management firm that holds approximately 47 million Rite Aid shares, said it would vote against the merger, claiming it did not offer compelling value …
MERRIMACK, N.H. — Brookstone Co. Inc. has filed for bankruptcy and will close its remaining 101 mall locations. The Merrimack-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 protection on Thursday, Aug 2., the second time it has done so in the last five years. The company first filed for bankruptcy in 2014 and was sold to a Chinese investment group for more than $173 million. The retailer cited the “extremely challenging” retail environment at malls as a factor in its struggles. Brookstone’s 35 airport stores, along with its e-commerce and wholesale divisions, will continue to operate as the company attempts to find a buyer. Brookstone has secured a $30 million loan to finance operations during the sale. According to a bankruptcy filing, Brookstone had liabilities totaling up to $500 million and assets between $50 million and $100 million.
CHICAGO — Cushman & Wakefield has announced the pricing of its initial public offering (IPO) of 45 million of its ordinary shares at a price to the public of $17 per share. The shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and will trade under the symbol “CWK” beginning today. In addition, Cushman & Wakefield has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 6.75 million ordinary shares at the public offering price less underwriting discounts and commissions. The Chicago-based real estate firm expects to use the net proceeds from the ordinary shares to reduce outstanding indebtedness. In particular, the firm plans to repay its second-lien loan, to pay the outstanding amount of the deferred payment obligation related to its acquisition of Cassidy Turley and any remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes. Cushman & Wakefield filed for its IPO in June. Underwriters include a group of banks led by Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and UBS Investment Bank.
IRVINE, CALIF. — Irvine-based real estate investment trust HCP (NYSE: HCP) has entered into a definitive agreement to form a new $605 million joint venture with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investment (MSREI) on a 2 million-square-foot medical office building portfolio. MSREI will provide cash to the joint venture for a 49 percent stake, while HCP will contribute nine wholly owned medical office buildings valued at approximately $320 million. These assets, located primarily in Texas and Florida, comprise 1.2 million square feet of leasable space and are 80 percent occupied. The joint venture will use the cash contributed by MSREI to fund the $285 million acquisition of a medical office portfolio in Greenville, S.C. Healthcare Trust of America Inc. (NYSE: HTA) has agreed to sell the Greenville portfolio, which includes 16 medical office buildings totaling approximately 856,000 square feet. HTA originally acquired the portfolio in 2009 for $163 million as part of a sale-leaseback transaction. HCP and MSREI will immediately market for sale three of the smaller assets within the Greenville portfolio, leaving the venture with a combined 832,000 square feet of leasable space. Greenville Health System, the largest health system in South Carolina, occupies 94 percent of the portfolio’s square …
FORT WORTH, TEXAS AND LINCOLN, NEB. — Fort Worth-based RadioShack has partnered with Lincoln, Neb.-based retailer HobbyTown to open more than 100 new express stores nationwide. RadioShack will start by opening 60 locations of its store-within-a-store concept at HobbyTown stores across the country. The new express store will sell RadioShack-branded electronics. The move will bring RadioShack’s merchandise to several suburban markets. Founded in 1921, RadioShack is owned today by General Wireless Operations Inc., which acquired the brand in March 2015.
DALLAS AND HOUSTON — Dallas-based Veritex Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: VBTX), the parent company of Veritex Community Bank, and Houston-based Green Bancorp (NASDAQ: GNBC) have entered into an agreement that will merge Green and its subsidiaries with the Veritex brand. The transaction, which is valued at approximately $1 billion, will create a new lending institution with $7.5 billion in assets that will operate 43 branches across the state. The deal calls for Green’s shareholders to receive 0.79 shares of Veritex common stock for each share of Green common stock. The stocks are currently trading at about $32.77 per share for Veritex and $25.89 per share for Green. Closing is expected to occur during the first quarter of 2019.
SEATTLE — Columbia Pacific Advisors, a Seattle-based investment firm, has agreed to acquire Vancouver, Wash.-based seniors housing owner-operator Hawthorn Retirement Group for an undisclosed price. Hawthorn owns, develops and operates communities located across 20 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Hawthorn currently operates 55 communities, with another 24 communities under construction or in pre-development. In addition to the real estate portfolio, the acquisition will include Hawthorn’s management and construction businesses. The principal owners of Hawthorn — Bart Colson, Brad Colson, Norm Brenden and Pat Kennedy — have all known and worked with Columbia Pacific co-founder Dan Baty for many years. Bill Colson and Dan Baty were the primary owners of Holiday Retirement prior to its sale to Fortress Investment Group in 2007. Bart Colson and Brad Colson are Bill’s sons, and Bart was Holiday’s COO for 10 years prior to the sale to Fortress. Norm Brenden and Pat Kennedy were also high-ranking executives at Holiday. “We are buying what we believe to be one of the best senior living companies ahead of a huge and quickly approaching demographic trend of an aging U.S. population,” said Alex Washburn, managing partner and co-founder of Columbia Pacific Advisors. “The Hawthorn platform consists of …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fannie Mae has appointed David Benson as president and promoted Celeste Brown to executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). Both appointments are effective August 6. In conjunction with the promotions, the agency also announced that its CEO, Timothy Mayopoulos, will step down by the end of the year. Benson joined Fannie Mae in 2002 and for the past five years served as executive vice president and CFO. As president, Benson will report to the CEO and manage the day-to-day business and operations of the agency. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, he held leadership positions at Merrill Lynch. “Dave is a natural choice for the president position,” said Egbert L.J. Perry, chairman of Fannie Mae’s board of directors. “He is an excellent leader who has held a variety of senior positions in his 16 years at Fannie Mae. He has deep expertise in the company’s business, the mortgage market and operations.” Brown joined Fannie Mae one year ago as senior vice president and deputy chief financial officer, following an 18-year career at Morgan Stanley. “I am pleased with the depth of our bench as demonstrated by Celeste Brown’s promotion,” said Perry. “Celeste has made great contributions to …