Share it
In the past several months, continuing a practice begun with the 2016 acquisition of teen apparel retailer Aeropostale, Simon Property Group acquired a slew of retailers. In a way, bankruptcy courts last year served as shopping centers of a sort themselves. Simon, in partnership with licensing and brand management firm Authentic Brands Group (via their 50/50 joint venture, Sparc), bought Lucky Brand and Brooks Brothers; earlier in the year, with rival Brookfield, they bought Forever 21. At the end of the year, Brookfield and Simon snapped up J.C. Penney for a cash payment of $692 million and new term debt.
It s unusual, but there are reasons why a landlord might want to own its tenant, or even many tenants. Speaking to analysts last year, Simon Property CEO David Simon cited the most fundamental of all to make money while minimizing the risk by calling it a sideline business.