Blockbuster Shuttering Up to 545 Stores During 2010
February 28th, 2010Keeping with the ongoing contraction of the traditional movie rental retail business, Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI, BBI.B) said it would close 500 to 545 of its company-owned U.S. retail stores during 2010. To date, the retailer has already closed 253…
Westfield Considers Bid for General Growth
February 25th, 2010The takeover battle for the U.S. mall owner heated up as the company unveiled a deal for investor Brookfield to help finance its emergence from bankruptcy.
Distressed CRE Assets Jump 15% at Nation’s Banks
February 24th, 2010The amount of distressed commercial real estate assets on the books of the nation’s banks and thrifts approached $60 billion as of year-end 2009. That is up from $52 billion just three months earlier, a 15% increase.
The $59.9 billion includes loans…
Starwood Buying a Half Billion Dollars in Performing Loans from Teachers
February 24th, 2010Starwood Property Trust agreed to acquire a $503 million portfolio of performing commercial mortgages from TIAA-CREF for approximately $510 million, plus accrued interest.
The fixed-rate portfolio consists of 18 senior first mortgage A-notes and two…
Kennedy Wilson Completes Largest Buy in its History – A Loan Portfolio
February 24th, 2010International real estate investment and services investment firm Kennedy Wilson has acquired a $342 million loan portfolio from a large regional bank.
The loan portfolio is composed of residential, hotel, retail, office, land, multifamily and other…
Bank Watch: Citizens First: Squeezing and Being Squeezed
February 24th, 2010In an attempt to hang on to every penny Citizens First Bancorp Inc., the Port Huron, MI-based holding company for CF Bancorp, has voluntarily delisted its common stock from the NASDAQ stock exchange.
The decision to delist is part of the company’s…
Tepper Joins Stuyvesant Fight
February 24th, 2010Hedge-fund investor David Tepper has stepped into the battle over the fate of Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, the giant New York City complex involved one of the largest commercial real-estate failures.
Hong Kong Warns of Bubble Risk
February 24th, 2010The financial secretary warned in the annual budget address of an ‘increased risk of a bubble forming in the property market,’ on recent signs of rising prices in the residential and land markets.
Moviegoers Keep Cinema REIT Rolling
February 24th, 2010Refocusing on Its core business sends the stock of Entertainment Properties soaring. “It’s a very good time to be a theater owner.”
General Growth to Seek Split
February 24th, 2010General Growth, with help from Brookfield, is expected to propose a plan to split into two mall companies, exiting bankruptcy and thwarting Simon’s takeover bid.
