Finance & Capital Management

Sonic Drive-In is expanding its footprint in the Golden State.

The company signed franchise agreements to open a total of 33 new drive-ins in the state of California over the next seven years.

The 33 drive-ins are planned for multiple markets across the state: 11 in Sacramento; 12 in the San Francisco Bay Area; three in west Los Angeles; five between Bakersfield and Stockton and two in the Palm Springs area.

Rite Aid last week reported a same-store sales decrease of 0.1% for the four weeks ended Dec. 26. December front-end same-store sales increased 0.8% while pharmacy same-store sales, which included an approximate 207 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions, decreased 0.6%.

Despite the report of relatively flat sales, Rite Aid stocks were up on Dec. 31, reaching a peak of $7.89 for the day. Today, the stock is trading at $7.86, up slightly from the day's open of $7.84.

New York -- Urban Edge Properties announced the acquisition of Pan Bay Center, located in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens, New York, for $27 million. The property includes almost the entire block on the west side of Cross Bay Boulevard between 156th Avenue and 157th Avenue.

The 50,000 sq. ft. property is currently 85% leased with local retail tenants on the ground floor and medical office tenants on the second floor. The property includes 97 parking spaces.

Venice, Fla. -- Main Street Ranchlands and The Sembler Company announced the companies have formed a joint venture to develop the Marketplace at Coastamar in West Villages located in Venice, Florida. This is the first commercial opportunity in the rapidly growing master-planned community in south Sarasota County.

Cleveland -- Forest City Enterprises, Forest City Realty Trust announced the completion of the merger of FCE Merger Sub, Inc., an Ohio corporation, with and into Forest City Enterprises, Inc., with Forest City Enterprises, Inc. surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.

The merger marks the final step in the company’s planned conversion to real estate investment trust (REIT) status for the taxable year ending December 31, 2016.

Los Angeles -- CBRE Group announced that it has acquired CBRE Memphis, a commercial real estate services firm that has served as CBRE’s affiliate in Memphis since 1996.

CBRE Memphis services include leasing, property sales, property management, project management and consulting. The firm has a staff of more than 100 and leases and/or manages approximately 14 million sq. ft. of property in the Memphis metro area, as well as in Jackson, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

Consumer confidence rose in December amid lower gas prices and a stronger job market.

The index of consumer confidence rose to 96.5 in December from a revised 92.6 in November, the Conference Board said Tuesday. (The November reading originally was put at 90.4, the lowest level in more than a year.) Economists expected a rise to 93.6, according to Bloomberg.

How will retailers fare in 2016? Very well, according to experienced market watchers.

“We expect core retail sales to grow 5.3% in 2016,” says Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics for Moody’s Analytics, a research firm based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. (Core retail sales exclude volatile revenues from auto sales and gas stations.)

That is notably faster than the 4.2% rate anticipated when 2015 sales are finally tallied. The 2015 experience was, again, slightly better than that the 3.9% growth of 2014.

The Ferris Wheel in the Toys “R” Us’ Times Square flagship has had its last go round.

The 110,000-sq.-ft., four- level megastore shut its doors forever at 6 p.m., Wednesday, December 30, 2015.

Toys “R” Us Times Square opened in fall 2001, complete with a 60-ft.-tall Ferris wheel, a life-sized Barbie dream house, a giant animatronic T-Rex and other attention-getting attractions.

The retailer, which opted not to renew its pricey Times Square lease, is looking for another location in Manhattan.

Activist investor Carl Icahn has prevailed in his fight to buy the Pep Boys – Manny, Mo & Jack.

Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises will buy the auto parts retailer for $18.50 per share. The all-cash deal is valued at approximately $1.03 billion.