Deals

Deerfield Beach, Fla. — Konover South has bought back a portfolio of nine Florida retail shopping centers valued at more than $100 million. Konover had previously sold a share of the portfolio to an institutional investment partner. The buy-back returns complete ownership to Konover, which developed or redeveloped the properties over the years.

Peoples United Bank provided $75 million of new permanent financing for the transaction.

Virginia Beach, Va. — Dollar General, Lily’s As Seen on TV, Sunrise Pizzeria and General Nutrition Corporation have all signed leases for retail space in Virginia, according to Divaris Real Estate, which represented the shopping centers in the transactions.

Dollar General renewed its lease for 6,720 sq. ft. in the Divaris-leased and –managed Glenwood Shoppes in Norfolk.

Fremont, Calif. -- Men's Wearhouse has turned the tables on Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, with a proposal to acquire its one-time suitor for approximately $1.54 billion. Men's Wearhouse is offering $55 per share for Jos. A. Bank, which represents nearly a 9% premium to the company's $50.32 Monday closing price.

Jos. A. Bank made an unsolicited $2.3 billion bid in early October for Men’s Wearhouse, which rejected the offer, calling "opportunistic" and "inadequate."

Hoffman Estates, Ill. - Sears Holdings chairman Eddie Lampert is reportedly considering selling the company’s Sears Canada stores. According to the New York Post, Lampert has been quietly consulting banks including Goldman Sachs and reaching out to prospective buyers.

Atlanta — Jones Lang LaSalle has closed the sale of Powers Ferry Plaza on behalf of Equity One. An Atlanta-based private investor purchased the 86,401-sq.-ft. shopping center anchored by Micro Center.

The property is strategically located on approximately 10.7 acres along Powers Ferry Road near the intersection of Powers Ferry Road and Delk Road, a little more than 12 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.

Here’s something you may not have heard in a while: Competition from multiple buyers is causing a spike in the price of many shopping centers. This isn’t a minor bubble, either — it has become apparent to me that the extremely competitive nature of the current market has led to some dramatic overpricing. From my perspective, many of the price tags on power centers and grocery-anchored neighborhood centers (and, to a lesser extent, traditional malls and unanchored strip centers) are getting out of touch with reality.

Tucson, Ariz. — Gordon’s Dollar Plus Store has signed a lease for a 2,586-sq.-ft. apace at River Crossing in Tucson. Gordon’s Dollar Plus Store is licensed by Discount Dollar Store Services of Las Vegas. Plans call for the new store to open in mid-December.

Commercial Retail Advisors represented the landlord, La Cholla and River Road Associates in the transaction. DDSS Real Estate represented the tenant.

Crest Hill, Ill. — Mid-America Real Estate Corp.’s Net Lease Investment Group recently brokered the sale of a two-tenant 88,000-sq.-ft. retail building leased to Big Lots and Home Owners Bargain Outlet in Crest Hill, Ill. A private investor in California purchased the property from a local Chicago area investor for $2.25 million.

Major retailers surrounding the property include Jewel/Osco, Ultra Foods, Food 4 Less and TJ Maxx.