CHICAGO, NEW YORK CITY AND LONDON — Elliott Investment Management LP, the parent company of Barnes & Noble, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets and business operations of Paper Source. The Seattle Times reports that the purchase price was approximately $91.5 million. The acquisition will allow the Chicago-based stationery and party supplies retailer to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and to continue to operate 130 stores across the country, as well as its wholesale division, Waste Not Paper by Paper Source. James Daunt, CEO of New York City-based Barnes & Noble, will oversee daily operations of both companies. While Paper Source and Barnes & Noble will continue to function as separate businesses, executives involved in the deal noted that the complementary nature of the two retail operations creates potential for future partnerships. Elliott Investment Management originally acquired Barnes & Noble in September 2019.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — The board of directors for L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) has unanimously approved a plan to separate the company into two independent, public companies consisting of Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret. L Brands expects to create these companies through a tax-free spinoff of Victoria’s Secret to the shareholders of L Brands. “The spinoff will enable each company to maximize management focus and financial flexibility to thrive in an evolving retail environment and deliver profitable growth,” L Brands stated in a news release. As separate businesses, each will benefit from a sharpened focus on pursuing growth strategies best suited to each company’s customer base and strategic objectives, adds Sarah Nash, chair of the board for L Brands. The Columbus-based retailer had been evaluating the possibility of either a spinoff or a sale of Victoria’s Secret with input from its financial advisors, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Ultimately, the board decided that the spinoff would provide shareholders with more value than a sale. The transaction is expected to close in August. L Brands reported net sales of $3 billion for the first quarter of the company’s 2021 fiscal year that ended May 1, compared with $1.6 billion …
WATERTOWN, MASS. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged the $130 million sale of Watertown Mall, a 260,867-square-foot power center in Watertown, a first-ring suburb just west of Boston. The property is 98 percent occupied by 10 tenants, including Target, Best Buy and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Situated on 17.8 acres at 550 Arsenal St., Watertown Mall is adjacent to the 1 million-square-foot Arsenal Yards, the mixed-use redevelopment of a former armory. Watertown Mall Associates LP sold the property to Alexandria Real Estate Equities, according to local news outlet Wicked Local. The Watertown market has emerged as a popular life sciences and innovation district, according to JLL. It is located less than three miles from Cambridge and seven miles from downtown Boston. Watertown Mall welcomes more than 2.7 million annual customer visits and is home to the No. 1 most-visited Target store in Massachusetts, according to JLL. “With top-performing retail tenants in place, a premier location and demographics, and the potential to successfully support a variety of different uses, Watertown Mall represents an extraordinary opportunity to own one of the last large parcels in the red-hot Watertown submarket,” says JLL’s Chris Angelone. Angelone, along with colleagues Coleman Benedict, Nat Heald, …
By Adam Frank, president, River Oaks Properties As one of the sector’s largest owners and developers, we have been witness to a number of uplifting and heartbreaking outcomes wrought by COVID-19 in the El Paso retail market over the last year. We’ve spent countless hours working with the 800 or so tenants that comprise our portfolio, negotiating rent deferrals and restructured leases, helping them navigate the newly launched Paycheck Protection Program and devising creative real estate solutions to help keep their businesses afloat. In some cases, these efforts have helped tenants keep their doors open. In others, the economic impacts of COVID-19 ultimately hit the employee bases and operating budgets of tenants — especially those of the mom-and-pop variety — too harshly for them to survive. But through the good, bad and universally unprecedented challenges of 2020, we have seen one category of retail — food and beverage — position itself as the clear leader in the recovery and inevitable return to growth of the broader El Paso market. As is often the case during economic downturns, the grocery sector has performed well over the past year, with both large- and small-format players looking to expand in El Paso. River …
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) is increasing its restaurant wages, resulting in an $15 average hourly wage by the end of June, according to the Newport Beach-based company. Additionally, the Chipotle employees can advance to a “restaurateur” status, the highest general manager position, in approximately three-and-a-half years, with average compensation of $100,000. Wage increases for new and existing hourly and salaried restaurant employees will be rolled out over the next few weeks and will result in hourly crew member starting wages ranging from $11 to $18 per hour. The company has also launched a $200 employee referral bonus for crew members and a $750 referral bonus for apprentices and general managers. With approximately 200 restaurants slated to open this year coupled with continued growth and demand, Chipotle plans to hire 20,000 new team members across the United States. The company will host a virtual career fair on Discord on May 13.
APPLE VALLEY, CALIF. — Progressive Real Estate Partners has arranged the sale of a retail property located at 20152 US Highway 18 in Apple Valley, approximately 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles. An Orange County-based private investor sold the property to a Riverside County-based investor for $1.3 million. Little Caesars Pizza occupies a portion of the recently renovated, 4,995-square-foot building. Roxy Klein of Progressive Real Estate Partners represented the seller in the deal.
WEATHERFORD, TEXAS — Weitzman has brokered the sale of Weatherford Commons, a 34,448-square-foot retail center located in the western Fort Worth suburb of Weatherford. Shadow-anchored by a Walmart Supercenter, the property houses tenants such as Starbucks, T-Mobile, Great Clips and GameStop. Gretchen Miller and Matthew Rosenfeld of Weitzman represented the locally based seller in the transaction. The buyer and sales price were also not disclosed.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — NorthMarq has secured $10.5 million in acquisition financing for Freys Hill Retail Center, a 58,726-square-foot retail property located at 10220 Westport Road in Louisville. The fully occupied center is anchored by PetSmart and home to tenants including Half Price Books, Party City and Starbucks. The fixed-rate loan was structured with a 10-year term and a 25-year amortization schedule with two years of interest-only payments. Randall Waddell of NorthMarq arranged financing for the buyer, Lexington, Ky.-based Compass Capital LLC, through its relationship with a local bank.
LELAND, N.C. — Capstone Land Sales has brokered the $5.8 million sale of a 22.5-acre multifamily development site in Leland. The buyer, Atlanta-based Hathaway Development, will break ground later this year at the site for Exchange at Westgate, a 312-unit luxury apartment community. Caleb Troop and Eric Liebich of Capstone Land Sales led the transaction. Exchange at Westgate will be part of the greater 550-acre Westgate community, which includes retail and dining, apartment communities, single-family homes and the 146-acre Westgate Nature Park.
INDIANAPOLIS — David Simon, CEO and president of Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), says he is pleased with the company’s first-quarter results and that business has “substantially improved after addressing the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.” According to Simon, the mall owner is experiencing cash flow growth, increasing shopper traffic, increasing retailer sales and leasing momentum across its portfolio. Additionally, Simon says it is experiencing similar results in its recently acquired Taubman Realty Group portfolio, and is “encouraged by collective progress in increasing profitability.” Simon reported that its first-quarter revenue fell to $1.2 billion, compared with $1.3 billion the same period a year ago. For the three-month period ending March 31, occupancy at Simon’s U.S. malls and outlet properties totaled 90.8 percent, compared with 94 percent the year prior. Simon’s stock price closed at $126.75 per share Monday, May 10, up from $55.08 per share one year ago. Simon’s global property portfolio is comprised of more than 200 malls and outlet centers. It also owns an 80 percent interest in Taubman Realty Group, which owns 24 retail assets in the U.S. and Asia.