Reuters: Sycamore in talks to buy J.C. Penney

Private equity firm Sycamore Partners is in early talks to take J.C. Penney out of bankruptcy if the retailer’s negotiations with its creditors fail, reported Reuters.  

The department store company is also in discussions with some of its landlords, including Brookfield Asset Management Inc and Simon Property Group, about possible transactions, the report said.  (In February, the two real estate giants were among a consortium of buyers that bought bankrupt Forever 21. In 2016, Simon partnered with General Growth Properties — now owned by Brookfield — to save Aeropostale from liquidation.)

J.C. Penney, while filed for bankruptcy protection in May, recently received approval from bankruptcy court to access its debtor-in-possession financing, which includes $450 million of new money from its existing First Lien lenders.

“We are pleased to have received Court approval to access $450 million in new money, $225 million of which will be drawn immediately,” said Jill Soltau, CEO, J.C. Penney. “This is a positive step forward that will help us execute our Plan for Renewal and store optimization strategy, continue working seamlessly with our vendor partners, fund our ongoing business operations, and continue our focus on further developing the company’s go-forward business plan to successfully restructure J.C. Penney.