Corporate Governance

Beachwood, Ohio — DDR Corp. has announced the closing of its previously announce acquisition activity totaling $591 million. The acquisitions include a portfolio of seven prime power centers in a newly-formed joint venture with an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII L.P. for $332 million in August and two market dominant regional power centers in Orlando, Fla. and Atlanta, Ga., for an aggregate $259 million in July.

Las Vegas — Miracle Mile Shops on the Las Vegas Strip has launched, a new leasing website that provides prospective tenants with detail about the 475,000-sq.-ft retail property surrounding Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Live now, the website highlights the center’s sales per sq. ft. for current retail and dining operations, two live entertainment venues and 3,700 hotel rooms with 98% occupancy at the connected Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and Hilton Grand Vacations Elara.

Lansing, Mich. — Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team has brokered the sale of a portion of the 313,000-sq.-ft. Edgewood Town Center in Lansing, Mich. Office Max and Dollar Tree anchor the center, while Target and Sam’s Club shadow anchor.

RCG Ventures LLC purchased the 86,000-sq.-ft. portion, whch excludes shadow anchors, for an undisclosed amount from Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust. Mid-America represented Ramco-Gershenson.

Beachwood, Ohio — DDR Corp. has closed a previously announced acquisition of a portfolio of 30 power centers from a joint venture with Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII L.P. and settled its forward equity sale. DDR acquired Blackstone’s 95% share.

The company funded the investment through a combination of proceeds from the issuance of new common equity and unsecured debt, preferred equity and mezzanine loan repayments and the assumption of existing mortgage debt.

Garden City, N.Y. — Beth L. Lamport, 70, executive VP with Sabre Real Estate Group LLC died Sept. 27 at her home in Port Washington.

The cause was uterine cancer. “She was a dynamo in the business,” said Kenneth Breslin, a Sabre principal.

Dallas — SRS Real Estate Partners www.srsre.com has opened the doors to a new office in Birmingham, Ala. The company has also brought in Martin Smith to serve as senior VP and co-market leader alongside Josh Burmeister.

A 13-year veteran of the commercial real estate industry, Smith specializes in landlord representation, tenant representation and investment sales. Prior to joining SRS, he spent seven years with Retail Specialists, where he was director of brokerage and project leasing.
 

Plano, Texas – J.C. Penney Company shareholder Alan Marcus is suing the troubled department store chain because of its recent decision to build equity by issuing more than $800 million worth of new stock, which sent share values plunging, Reuters reported.    

The report said Marcus, who bought 300 shares of Penney stock on Sept. 26 shortly before the new stock was announced, is trying to obtain class-action status for his suit.
     

Framingham, Mass. – Staples, Inc. has completed the acquisition of Runa, a software company based in San Mateo, Calif., that helps online retailers increase sales by personalizing the shopping experience. Terms and conditions of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Bentonville, Ark. – Sam’s Club is opening a new store in Edmond, Okla., on Oct. 3. The new Sam's Club features a shopper-friendly interior layout and measures approximately 136,000 sq. ft., and has created about 130 new jobs.

Springfield, N.J. – Village Super Market reported net income of $6.2 million during fourth quarter 2013 and $25.8 million during the full fiscal year. These figures were respectively down 31% from $9 million and 18% from $31.4 million year-over-year.

The retailer cited the negative impact of higher expenses and lower gross profits as contributing to its drop in net income.