Deals

Aliso Viejo, Calif. -- Johnny Rockets recently signed the largest development deal in the brand's history, with a plan to open 100 restaurants in China, with the first scheduled to open in 2016.

Boston - Gordon Brothers Group’s Valuation & Advisory Services Division and AccuVal-LiquiTec have entered into a merger to form Gordon Brothers-AccuVal.  The new group will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Gordon Brothers Group.

Emeryville, Calif. - Jamba, Inc. has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Vitaligent LLC to refranchise 100 company-owned restaurants in the San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego markets. Under the terms of the agreement, Jamba will receive a purchase price of $36.0 million in cash.

Springfield, Mo. – Los Angeles-based private equity group Leonard Green & Partners is reportedly in talks to acquire a stake in specialty outdoor retailer Bass Pro Shops. According to the Wall Street Journal, Leonard Green may make an offer that would value the privately-held Bass Pro at between $4 billion and $5 billion, including debt.

Indianapolis - Simon Property Group Inc. has withdrawn a roughly $22 billion offer to purchase California-based mall operator Macerich Co. In a brief statement, Simon said it decided to withdraw the offer, worth $95.50 per share, in light of the decision by the Macerich board of directors not to engage in discussions.

Target will complete its inventory liquidation efforts and close the last of its 133 Canadian retail stores by April 12.

The retailer has already shut down 46 stores across Canada and will close another 32 on April 2; 18 on April 4; and 24 on April 8. The final 13 stores will close just days after that.

Fort Worth, Texas – In what may be a tale of survival to rival the PT 109 ordeal of John F. Kennedy, RadioShack Corp. will exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy with some 1,700 stores intact.  

A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved the sale of 1,743 RadioShack stores to hedge fund Standard General, preserving some 7,500 jobs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Standard General intends to operate most of the preserved RadioShack stores in an alliance with Sprint Corp.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holding Corp. is forming a real estate investment trust (REIT) called Seritage Growth Properties, which will purchase 254 Sears and Kmart stores for more than $2.5 billion. Seritage will partially fund the transaction through a public rights offering.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Hendricks Commercial Properties LLC, a Wisconsin-based real estate firm, has reportedly purchased the lone Kmart store on the Hawaiian island of Maui, for $20.8 million. According to Pacific Business News, the 108,000-sq.-ft. building is part of a seven-acre parcel that had been on the market for $22.5 million.

Hendricks purchased the store from KM Maui Partners, who had been leasing the store back to Kmart.
 

Sears Holding Corp. is looking to raise more than $2.5 billion by selling its stores to a real estate investment trust.

The REIT, called Seritage Growth Properties, will purchase 254 Sears and Kmart stores for more than $2.5 billion and then lease back the Sears and Kmart stores to Sears Holdings. Seritage will partially fund the transaction through a public rights offering.