Finance & Capital Management

Sears Holdings Corp. announced it obtained a 15-month $500 million secured loan facility. ESL Investments, the company controlled by Sears chairman and CEO Edward Lampert, helped provide part of the loan and is entitled to related fees.

Sears said $250 million of the 15-month loan was funded on Friday with the remainder being accessible in the future.

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- CBL & Associates Properties announced that it has completed $151.5 million ($86.9 million at CBL's share) in dispositions in two separate transactions.

CBL and its 50/50 joint venture partner sold the Renaissance Center, a 363,000 sq. ft., community shopping center located in Durham, North Carolina.

In what has been described as an historic rate reduction, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will roll back postage rates on April 10.

The reduction – the first stamp prices have fallen since 1919 – is prompted by the removal of the 4.3% exigent surcharge. It will apply to several mail classifications, including letters, large envelopes, flats, and postcards.

Durham, North Carolina -- InvenTrust Properties announced that it has acquired Renaissance Center, a 96% leased, 363,176 sq. ft. retail power center, in Durham, North Carolina, for $129.2 million.

Brian Monahan, VP of marketing for Walmart.com, has left the chain (as of April 1) to go back to a startup he helped found in 2012.

Monahan, who joined Walmart in May 2013, is now serving as chief evangelist of San Francisco-based NewCo Festivals, a media and events platform he co-founded with John Battelle in 2012. NewCo hosts global events it calls “festivals” for start-ups and also publishes editorial content aimed at start-ups. In his new (or old) role, he will oversee brand strategy, sales and marketing, and product development.

Arby’s Restaurant Group has exceeded its own goal for energy reduction, and also cut its water consumption, for a combined energy-related savings of $20.4 million from 2011-2015.

The company announced that as of Dec. 31, 2015, it reached 15.2% total energy reduction per company-owned restaurant from a 2011 baseline, exceeding the “15 Percent By 2015” energy savings goal the company set for itself in 2012.

In addition, Arby’s achieved an 8.6% reduction in water consumption per company-owned restaurant from 2011-2015.

RCS Real Estate Advisors has begun the process of selling Hancock Fabrics' 185 leases to generate value for the estate.

The move, which comes following Hancocks' February bankruptcy announcement represents the next step in the recent retention of RCS by Hancock Fabrics, debtor-in-possession (DIP) that has been approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Brand awareness and sales growth are accelerating at Duluth Holdings where the company’s rapidly expanding store base is so young it won’t be able to report same-store sale growth until 2017.

Belleville, Wisconsin-based Duluth Holdings, known to customers as Duluth Trading Company, grew sales 27.5% to $140.4 million and net income increased 25.8% to $17.5 million, or 58 cents a share, during the quarter ended Jan. 31. For the full year, total sales rose 31.2% to $304 billion. Net income grew 16.1% to $27.4 million, or $1.06 a share.