Simon Property Group executive takes over as interim CEO at JC Penney
The new owners of JC Penney replaced CEO Jill Soltau less than a month after re-launching the department store chain that went bankrupt during the pandemic.
The new owners of JC Penney replaced CEO Jill Soltau less than a month after re-launching the department store chain that went bankrupt during the pandemic.
Among the companies losing ground Tuesday was Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc., which fell 2.6% after the shopping mall operator completed its $3 billion purchase of an 80% stake in rival Taubman Centers.
Simon, the nation’s largest mall owner, had said in February that it would pay $3.6 billion for 80% of Michigan-based Taubman Centers Inc. But it announced in June it wanted out of the deal, a stance that landed the companies in court.
Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and CBL & Associates Properties Inc. sought protection from creditors Sunday, citing pandemic-induced pressures. The two REITs account for about 87 million square feet of real estate across the U.S.
The closure of so many mall stores will be a blow to Indianapolis-based shopping center giant Simon Property Group. Gap Inc. has more than 390 stores at Simon’s malls, including its namesake brand, Old Navy and Banana Republic.
The media is fascinated by what he’s up to, as the nation’s largest shopping mall owner teams with partners to buy ailing retail chains while negotiating with Amazon to fill vacant anchor spaces with distribution centers.
Indianapolis-based shopping mall giant Simon Property Group announced Monday that it plans to join the growing retail trend of not being open on Thanksgiving Day.
The tentative rescue deal, which would preserve about 70,000 jobs, includes a $300 million equity investment by landlords Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, a lawyer for J.C. Penney said at a Wednesday bankruptcy hearing in Texas.
J.C. Penney filed for bankruptcy May 15, part of a wave of already-struggling merchants undone by the pandemic. Simon Property, Brookfield Property Partners and Authentic Brands Group were in talks to buy the retailer.
News of the $140 million deal comes in the same week that Simon Property Group and Authentic Brands Group agreed to acquire legendary clothier Brooks Brothers.
The venture between Authentic Brands Group and Simon Property Group will continue running at least 125 of Brooks Brothers’ 200 stores as part of the deal.
The Indianapolis-based shopping mall operator said all of its U.S. properties have reopened, with the exception of a handful in California that were forced to close for a second time on July 15 because of government mandates.
Louis Vuitton is ranked as the world’s most valuable luxury brand, with a value of $47.2 billion, topping Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, Rolex and others.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Simon-back venture intends to purchase substantially all of the iconic retailer’s global business operations as a going concern. It has committed to acquiring at least 125 Brooks Brothers retail locations.
Simon is veering into retailer ownership in a substantial way, emboldened by its successful partnership with two other firms to buy the teen-oriented mall chain Aeropostale out of bankruptcy court in 2016.
Microsoft is dramatically shrinking its in-person retail business and will permanently close all but four of its brick-and-mortar locations, after its attempts to replicate Apple’s success with storefronts failed to get traction.
The lease will be COhatch’s second with Circle Centre landlord Simon Property Group. The firm previously announced plans to open a coworking space at Simon’s Hamilton Town Center in Noblesville.
David Simon and Bobby Taubman are battling now in court over whether Simon Property Group is obligated to complete the $3.6 billion purchase of Michigan-based Taubman Centers that it announced in February.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Marion County Superior Court, says the retailer failed to pay rent for April, May and June while closed during the pandemic.
Taubman Centers said in a filing alleging illegal termination that rival mall landlord Simon Property Group knowingly assumed the risks of the pandemic at the time their $3.6 billion merger deal was announced.