JCPenney’s Retail and Operating Assets to Exit Chapter 11

JCPenney today announced that it has completed its previously announced sale, under which Simon Property Group (“Simon”) and Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. (“Brookfield”) have acquired substantially all of JCPenney’s retail and operating assets (“OpCo”). The Company’s asset purchase agreement (“APA”) with Simon, Brookfield and the Company’s DIP and First Lien Lenders (“First Lien Lenders”), supported by the Unsecured Creditors Committee, had previously been approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the “Court”) on November 9, 2020.

“Today is an exciting day for our company, as we have accomplished our goal of putting JCPenney on a secure path for the future as a private company so that we can continue to serve our loyal customers,” said Jill Soltau, Chief Executive Officer of JCPenney. “With this closing, our operating company has exited Chapter 11 and is continuing under new ownership and the JCPenney banner. This milestone would not be possible without the commitment and hard work of our associates and the support of our vendor partners. Throughout the 2020 holiday season and beyond, we remain focused on implementing our Plan for Renewal to Offer Compelling Merchandise, Drive Traffic, Deliver an Engaging Experience, Fuel Growth and Build a Results-Minded Culture.”

“We have always been firm believers in JCPenney, and are very pleased to help preserve this iconic institution and save tens of thousands of jobs,” said David Simon, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Simon Property Group. “JCPenney is now poised for a future focused on innovation and consumers, while continuing to navigate through the pandemic. We are excited about JCPenney’s future growth and look forward to collaborating with the JCPenney team to serve its customers and communities.”

“We are excited to help lead the turnaround of a storied institution while saving tens of thousands of jobs and continuing to serve over 35 million customers,” said Brian Kingston, CEO of Real Estate at Brookfield Asset Management. “This is exactly the type of investment our Retail Revitalization Program was designed to make and along with our partner Simon we have a successful blueprint in place to deploy our collective operational expertise and industry relationships to transform JCPenney through new innovations and offerings.”

In addition, on November 24, 2020, the Court approved the Company’s Plan of Reorganization to create separate property holding companies (“PropCos”) comprising 160 of the Company’s real estate assets and all of its owned distribution centers, which will be owned by the Company’s DIP and First Lien Lenders. The OpCo will enter into master leases with the PropCos and JCPenney will continue to operate the properties and distribution centers moved into the PropCos. The PropCos are expected to complete the Court-supervised restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the first half of 2021.
https://www.jcpnewsroom.com/news-releases/2020/1207_chapter11_exit.html

Related Posts

Two Sides Member Spotlight – Canon Solutions America

Canon Solutions America, Inc. provides industry leading enterprise, production and large format printing solutions, supported by exceptional professional service offerings. The Production Print Solutions group specializes in high-speed, high-volume printing and is best known for its industry leading production inkjet portfolio. The company strives to protect the environment throughout the entire life cycle of its products, from its energy efficient product design and manufacturing processes to its large format ink cartridge collection/recycling program and the elimination of hazardous substances from its products and services wherever possible. Canon’s enthusiastic support of Two Sides is yet another way the company demonstrates its sustainability commitment. “Canon is proud to be a Two Sides member as both organizations work to promote the sustainable narrative of print,” says Ed Jansen, Canon Solutions America Vice President of Marketing and Two Sides Board Member. “Working together, we are dispelling common environmental misconceptions by providing consumers with verifiable information on why print on paper is an attractive, practical and sustainable communications medium.”

Nordstrom making Election Day a holiday (chainstoreage.com)

Nordstrom wants to ensure that its employees have the time to vote on Nov. 3. The department store retailer is making Election Day a holiday for all its U.S. employees. While Nordstrom stores and operations centers will remain open, the company will work with employees to set schedules which will enable them to get to the polls. It also will provide its store, fulfillment center, distribution center and call center employees discounted rides to the polls through Lyft. "We believe every voice matters and our country is stronger when we all participate in the democratic process," said Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer. "This initiative is a direct result of feedback we heard from more than 50,000 Nordstrom employees from all regions of the U.S. They told us they want to be actively engaged in their communities and help find solutions to the challenges we're facing. Enabling them to make their voices heard by voting is a meaningful and productive way we can support our people and our communities."

A Year for the (Record) Books in Publishing (publishersweekly.com)

Combined print book and e-book sales hit 942 million units in 2020 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan, a 9% increase over 2019 and the most unit sales recorded in a single year by BookScan since the service was created in 2004. In a webinar held last week, Kristen McLean, executive director of NPD Books, said the gain was due to a combination of strong sales of both print and digital books. Print sales rose 8.2% over 2019, the largest annual increase since 2005, and the print total of 751 million units sold was the highest since 2009, the year before e-books started to become a meaningful part of the book business. E-book unit sales, as measured by NPD’s PubTrack Digital service, rose 12.6% over 2019 and were at their highest level since 2015, when 208 million units were sold (e-book sales figures for November and December are projections).
Back To Top
×Close search
Search