Financial/Banking

CBL & Associates announced it has completed a $66.5 million sale of two malls in Michigan — The Lakes in Muskegon and the Fashion Square Mall in Saginaw. The identity of the buyer was not disclosed.   CBL president and CEO Stephen Lebovitz said the Michigan sales were part of a long-term plan to move to a portfolio of higher quality, higher-growth portfolios.   

Amazon Prime has added yet another item to its growing lineup of membership benefits: discounts on student loans.   The online giant is teaming up with Wells Fargo to offer Amazon Prime Student members a discount on private student loans that are taken out through Wells Fargo Educational Financial Services, the largest private student lender among U.S. commercial banks. (Membership in Amazon Prime Student costs $49 a year, which is half the price of a regular Amazon Prime membership.)  

Party City Holdco Inc. on Thursday named Daniel J. Sullivan as CFO.   Sullivan succeeds Michael A. Correale, who is stepping down as Party City CFO to focus on the newly created position of executive VP chief accounting officer and treasurer, effective Aug. 29. In his new role, Correale will be responsible for all of the company’s external financial reporting, treasury functions, banking and credit relationships.  

Cindy Schooler has joined SRS Real Estate Partners as a senior VP in the Orlando, Florida, office directing landlord and tenant representation. She held a similar role with Cushman & Wakefield in Central Florida for the past two years.   Schooler has long experience in retail site selection, having spent eight years performing market analysis and negotiating leases for new restaurant concepts with Restaurant Partners in Orlando. She also spent five years as owner of Cynco Properties, a real estate broker.  

It appears that Aeropostale Inc., which declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, will be selling its assets rather than reorganizing.       The teen retailer said in court papers that “reorganization on a standalone basis is not feasible.” Instead, it will look for a “stalking horse” to make the lead bid at an auction next month, Bloomberg reported.   

Versa Capital Management has formed a new holding company, called Eastern Outfitters, which will continue the restructured operations of Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) and Bob’s Stores.  

Glen Valley Center’s taxable value had fallen to $776,221 since 2013, and the foreclosed, 35,775-sq.-ft. strip center in Caledonia, Michigan, had been the property of Wells Fargo Bank since 2007. So why did the bank walk away with $2.3 million for the center after a bidding war erupted among six buyers?   “We have a huge lack of product for investors to put their money in," explained Mark Ansara to mlive.com, which recently ran a report on the sale consummated at the end of June.  

Walmart Canada has begun following through with a June announcement it would gradually stop accepting Visa payments.   On June 11, the retailer issued a release stating it would stop accepting Visa payments across Canada, starting July 18 at stores in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Multiple media reports indicate that as of July 18, Walmart Canada is no longer taking payments via Visa-branded cards at three stores in Thunder Bay.