Deals

New York -- Surging rents in Manhattan have claimed another victim, and this time it's one of the city's most iconic retail establishments. F.A.O. Schwarz will close its legendary toy store on Fifth Avenue this summer, citing the high and rising costs of operating a store on one of the city's most pricey blocks of real estate. Toys "R" Us, which acquired F.A.O. Schwarz in 2009, said it will close the 45,000-sq.-ft.

Surging rents in Manhattan have claimed another victim, and this time it's one of the city's most iconic retail establishments.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has signed a 42,000-sq.-ft. lease to open a Neighborhood Market at Nor-Dan Shopping Center in Danville, Virginia. The store is planned to open in 2016 and will employ approximately 95 people.

Nor-Dan Shopping Center is a 161,428-sq.-ft. community center anchored by Big Lots and It's Fashion Metro, operated by Phillips Edison & Co.

New York - BGC Partners Inc., a global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets, has entered into an agreement to acquire Excess Space Retail Services Inc. Excess Space is a premier provider of real estate disposition, lease restructuring and lease renewal services, as well as related valuations for retailers nationwide and currently advises on 35.6 million-sq.-ft. of retail space in North America.

On the heels of Walmart's decision to acquire 13 Target locations in Canada comes an announcement from Lowe's, which has also decided to acquire 13 Target Canada leases as well as distribution center in Ontario.

The deal is worth about $125 million.

Dallas - Corner Bakery Cafe is focusing franchising efforts in the Southeastern markets of Birmingham; Charleston; Charlotte; Columbus; Jackson; New Orleans; Raleigh; and Tampa. Corner Bakery Cafe is looking for best-in-class franchise operators who have relevant multi-unit restaurant/retail experience in the market to be developed.

In targeting the Southeast region, Corner Bakery Cafe, which has more than 390 locations in development commitments, plans to strengthen its presence.
 

About a year and a half ago, I wrote the following about Sears in an article that appeared in this space: “the company has been run less like a retail operation and more like a REIT for many years now.”

New York -- Commercial real estate services firm DTZ, which is backed by private-equity firm TPG, has entered into a deal to acquire rival Cushman & Wakefield Inc. for $2 billion.

The combined company will have 43,000 employees, annual revenues of more than $5.5 billion and manage more than 4 billion square feet of real estate globally.  It will operate under the Cushman & Wakefield name.