Deals

Toronto - Sears Canada Inc. has closed a transaction to sell and leaseback three properties to Concord Pacific Group of Companies. The transaction, originally announced on March 11, 2015, has closed for total proceeds of $140 million.

Crate & Barrel is joining Toys"R"Us and other retailers shutting down Manhattan flagship locations due to skyrocketing rent prices.

New York -- Rising rents are causing another national chain to exit a high-profile location in Manhattan. Home-furnishings retailer Crate & Barrel will close its flagship on Madison Avenue (at 59th Street) on Aug. 2, after negotiating an early exit from its lease, according to the Wall Street Journal. The store opened in 1995.

The closing will leave the city with just one Crate & Barrel, in the Soho section of downtown Manhattan.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – A reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses helped Sears Holdings Corp. reduce its first quarter net loss even as its sales continued to slide. The results came in as the chain prepares for the launch of its real-estate investment trust this week to raise cash. Sears said it expects the REIT transaction to raise $2.6 billion.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Retail Properties of America Inc. announced that Macy’s new off-price format, Macy’s Backstage, has signed a 35,200-sq.-ft. lease at Fordham Place in the Bronx, New York, as RPAI continues to execute on its remerchandising strategy of upgrading its tenancy and enhancing the dominance of its shopping centers.

The retail industry is accustomed to weak same store sales at Sears and Kmart, but the magnitude of the decline the company experienced in the first quarter was large even by its standards.

Framingham, Mass. -- X Team International, an international alliance of retail real estate advisors with expertise in more than 45 major markets throughout the U.S. and Canada, announced that partner, Strategic Retail Advisors (SRA), a retail real estate consulting and brokerage firm focused on tenant representation throughout the Northeast, has successfully negotiated a lease on behalf of accessories retailer Charming Charlie.
   

Framingham, Mass. – The proposed $6.3 billion merger of Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc. has cleared a global regulatory hurdle. Staples has received clearance from the Commerce Commission of New Zealand to acquire all the outstanding shares of Office Depot, which trades in New Zealand as OfficeMax.