Sears Holdings Corp. said Thursday that it has formed a joint
venture with mall owner Macerich Co. in the latest such partnership
between the struggling retailer and a mall operator.
Shares of Sears are down 0.3% while shares of Macerich are down
1%.
Sears, which has also announced a similar deal with Simon
Property Group Inc. and General Growth Properties Inc., said it has
contributed nine properties to the venture. Sears will lease back
the properties, which are located at Macerich malls, from the joint
venture. Macerich, meanwhile, has contributed $150 million in cash
to the venture and will have a 50% interest.
General Growth Properties paid $165 million while Simon paid
$114 million.
Sears and Simon signed a similar agreement earlier this month
after Simon's $16.8 billion offer to buy Macerich was rejected.
Sears' initial rent under the master lease will be about $14.8
million.
Sears Chief Executive Edward Lampert said that the joint-venture
agreements demonstrate the value of Sears' real-estate portfolio.
The nine properties are located in areas across the U.S. such as
Washington Square, Los Cerritos Center, Chandler Fashion Center and
South Plains Mall.
The move comes as Sears looks to raise more than $2.5 billion by
spinning off 254 of its best properties into a separate real-estate
investment trust called Seritage Growth Properties.
Shares of Sears have been up about 19% this year through
Wednesday's close.
Write to Angela Chen at angela.chen@dowjones.com
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