Deals

Melville, N.Y. -- A&G Realty Partners, a leading commercial real estate, advisory and investment group, has been retained by C. Wonder to manage the sale of the three retail store leases and several office locations in New York City and Long Island, following the company’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp announced that David J. Oakes has been named the company’s new CEO, effectively immediately. Oakes has been DDR’s president and CFO since January 2013, and was senior executive VP and CFO for the three years prior. He succeeds Daniel Hurwitz, who stepped down December 31 by mutual agreement.

"After a thorough and robust search process, the board is confident that David is the right person to lead DDR into the future," said chairman Terry Ahern.

Conshohocken, Pa. -- Ikea has chosen R&O Construction to serve as construction manager for the site work and store development of its future 351,000-sq.-ft. location in Las Vegas.

Pending remaining approvals, the project will continue on track for site work to commence this month, with groundbreaking during spring 2015. The store is scheduled to open in summer 2016.

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts is growing its presence in the Hoosier state. The company has signed multi-unit store development agreements with two existing franchise groups to develop 46 restaurants in Indiana during the next several years.  

New York – Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has increased his investment holding in EBay Inc. In his regulatory filing for fourth quarter 2014, Icahn disclosed that he purchased about 446,000 shares of EBay.

Grapevine, Texas – Private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners has purchased specialty restaurant chain Cotton Patch Café, which operates 45 locations in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Kathy Nelson, CEO of Cotton Patch, participated in the investment and will continue in her role.

Altamont Capital also holds major investments in franchisees of the Taco Bell and Sonic Drive-In fast-food chains. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Philadelphia -- X Team International announced that partner MSC Retail has completed a lease transaction with Rascals Fitness in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.

Rascals Fitness will open a 12,183-sq.-ft. facility in Collegeville Plaza at the intersection of Main Street and 2nd Avenue. “We’re excited to have helped complete the lease for Rascals Fitness on their third location in Pennsylvania,” said Michael Salove, president and CEO of MSC Retail.

Phoenix – The $8.7 billion private equity acquisition of PetSmart Inc. that was announced in December 2014 is one step closer to fruition. Argos Merger is providing a $1.9 billion senior note unsecured offering to finance the purchase.

Bellevue, Wash. -- Whole Foods Market announced its plans for continued expansion in Western Canada with three new locations: Greater Victoria, British Columbia; Edmonton, Alberta; and Calgary, Alberta.

Cape Coral, Fla. -- Stiles Realty announced 57,829 sq. ft. of leasing activity at Coralwood Center, one of the largest power centers in Cape Coral, Florida. HomeGoods and Ulta signed new leases totaling 33,819 sq. ft. in fourth quarter 2014. At the same time, anchor tenant Bealls Outlet has signed a lease to expand into a new 24,010-sq.-ft. store, increasing the center's occupancy to 81%.