:no_upscale():quality(75))
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Sears Holdings Corp and shopping-mall owner Macerich Co have formed a JV to take over nine Sears stores in Macerich malls. In return, Macerich has contributed more than $150M to Sears. Sears will continue to operate the stores involved in the deal, which is part of a larger push from Sears to raise $2.5B from its real estate holdings. Earlier this year, Sears formed a REIT, Seritage Growth Properties, which it's using to buy hundreds of Sears and Kmart stores to be leased back to the retailer, Bloomberg reports. This new deal will allow Macerich to redevelop the Sears stores with new tenants who might pay higher rents and attract more customers. [Bloomberg]
