Bed Bath & Beyond in deal to sell Christmas Tree Shops

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has struck three separate deals as it continues to streamline its portfolio and shed its non-core businesses. 

The home goods retailer, which expects to close about 200 stores during the next two years, has entered into an agreement to sell Christmas Tree Shops to Handil Holdings, which is based in Sudbury, Mass. The  agreement includes all 80 Christmas Tree Shop locations and a Middleborough, Mass., distribution center. Handil Holdings expects to continue operating Christmas Tree Shops as a stand-alone retail brand.  

In addition, Bed Bath & Beyond is selling its institutional Linen Holdings business to The Linen Group LLC, an affiliate of Lion Equity Partners. (Linen Holdings provides   linen, terry, amenities, case goods and apparel to  businesses in the global hospitality and healthcare industries.) The sale  is expected to close in October 2020.

The retailer is also selling its distribution center in Florence, N.J. to an institutional buyer. The companies have agreed to a transition service agreement, following the close of the transaction, to help ensure business continuity, particularly during the upcoming holiday season. The transaction is expected to close in November 2020.

Bed Bath & Beyond expects  to generate a total of approximately $250 million from the sales. 

"Today's announcement builds on the purposeful steps we have made throughout the year to simplify our portfolio, unlock capital and create clear strategic focus to accelerate our plans to build our authority in the home, baby, beauty and wellness markets,”  said president and CEO Mark Tritton.    

As previously reported, the retailer is selling its PersonalizationMall.com subsidiary to 1-800-Flowers.com for $245 million.