Eric Rapkin, Real Estate Practice Group Chair, spoke to GlobeSt about Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners’ interest in saving J.C. Penney, which filed for bankruptcy in May. According to reports, Simon and Brookfield are considering acquiring J.C. Penney.
Rapkin pointed out J.C. Penney is one of Simon’s top anchor mall tenants. By controlling the department-store chain, the mall owner can keep its anchor tenant and maintain occupancy since smaller retailers depend on larger tenants to drive foot traffic.
“I don’t think this will be a land rush for real estate owners to buy up their tenants who are going under,” Rapkin said. “But in certain situations where the retailer makes up a significant portion of a mall owner’s portfolio, and you can acquire them [the retailer] at a very attractive price in bankruptcy, there are a lot of good reasons to do it.”