Company News

Brookstone Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Will Close All Remaining U.S. Mall Stores

by David Cohen August 7, 2018

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.

August 7, 2018

Company News Illinois Midwest

Cushman & Wakefield Announces IPO Pricing

by Kristin Harlow August 2, 2018

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.

August 2, 2018

Acquisitions California Company News Florida Healthcare South Carolina Southeast Top Stories Western

HCP Forms $605M Medical Office Joint Venture With Morgan Stanley

by Camren Skelton August 2, 2018

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 …

August 2, 2018

Company News Retail Texas

RadioShack Partners with HobbyTown to Open 100 New Express Locations Nationwide

by John Nelson July 30, 2018

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.

July 30, 2018

Company News Texas

Two Texas Community Banks to Merge in $1B Deal

by Taylor Williams July 27, 2018

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.

July 27, 2018

Acquisitions Company News Multifamily Seniors Housing Washington Western

Columbia Pacific Advisors to Acquire Seniors Housing Owner-Operator Hawthorn Retirement Group

by Amy Works July 25, 2018

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 …

July 25, 2018

Company News District of Columbia Southeast

Fannie Mae Appoints New President, Chief Financial Officer

by Camren Skelton July 25, 2018

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 …

July 25, 2018

Company News Features

Avison Young Receives $188.6M Equity Investment from Canadian Fund Manager to Grow Platform

by John Nelson July 19, 2018

TORONTO — Commercial real estate services firm Avison Young is continuing its growth strategy with a new equity investment totaling 250 million Canadian dollars (approximately $188.6 million) from Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). Toronto-based Avison Young will use the new capital to grow its operating platform in North America. “CDPQ’s investment will provide additional momentum as we accelerate our innovative and technology-based capabilities and market presence to serve clients,” says Mark Rose, chair and CEO of Avison Young. In less than 10 years, Avison Young has grown from 300 real estate professionals in 11 offices in Canada to approximately 2,600 professionals in 84 offices in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe. The company’s largest U.S. office in terms of staff size is in Washington, D.C., followed in order by Chicago, New York and Atlanta. Avison Young will use the investment to continue its acquisition strategy of commercial real estate service firms, as well as recruit new talent, open new offices and cover transaction expenses. “Due to the significant size of the equity infusion we won’t be faced with having to make choices between regions for deployment of capital or be limited in …

July 19, 2018

Company News North Carolina Retail Southeast

The Fresh Market to Close 15 Stores Nationwide, Including Seven in Southeast

by Camren Skelton July 12, 2018

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Fresh Market Inc. announced this week that it will close 15 stores nationwide, including seven in the Southeast. The impacted stores were selected after an analysis of overall growth and long-term financial performance, according to the Greensboro-based grocer. “Over the last eight months, our company has been executing a turnaround plan and we’ve seen great progress,” said Larry Appel, CEO of The Fresh Market, in a statement. “However, for a variety of reasons unique to each retail location, that progress is not evenly distributed and, as a result, we have decided to close these long-term, underperforming stores.” In the Southeast, The Fresh Market will close locations in Atlanta and Snellville, Ga.; Louisville, Ky.; Charlotte, N.C.; Hendersonville, Tenn.; and Winchester and Charlottesville, Va. Other affected locations are located throughout Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. The stores will close over the next two to four weeks.

July 12, 2018

Acquisitions Company News Illinois Midwest

Colliers Finalizes $450M Harrison Street Investment

by Kristin Harlow July 9, 2018

CHICAGO — Colliers International has finalized its previously announced strategic investment in Harrison Street Real Estate Capital LLC for $450 million. An additional $100 million will be payable to Harrison Street in 2022 based on the achievement of certain performance targets. Colliers has acquired 75 percent of the Chicago-based real estate investment firm, which focuses on the education, healthcare and self-storage sectors. The senior management team of Harrison Street owns the balance of the equity. Christopher Merrill, Harrison Street’s co-founder and CEO, will lead operations and remain the largest individual shareholder. Colliers expects annual revenue from management fees to range between $100 million and $115 million. Harrison Street currently maintains approximately $14.6 billion in assets under management.

July 9, 2018

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