JCPenney Nearly Sold After 'Screaming Matches'

The department store chain negotiates a $1.75B deal
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 9, 2020 4:48 PM CDT
JCPenney Nearly Sold After 'Screaming Matches'
In this file photo, a shopper heads into a JC Penney store in Seattle.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

Looks like JCPenney has found itself a buyer. The dying department store chain—which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in May—has struck a tentative deal with a group of lenders and mall owners, USA Today reports. Brookfield Property Partners, Simon Property Group, and bankruptcy lenders are expected to acquire JCPenney's business and stores in a deal worth $1.75 billion. "We believe and feel comfortable that everybody will be rowing in the same direction," said Joshua Sussberg, a JCPenney lawyer. "We've had a few screaming matches, including earlier today, but we got there."

Seems the deal will save more than 70,000 jobs and 600 stores, although the chain said it will also shutter 242 locations. The coronavirus pandemic and JCPenney's ongoing financial troubles forced the sale, which will include Simon and Brookfield assuming $500 million in debt and investing $300 million in the stores. "It's been an effort around the clock," said Sussberg. "We are in a position to move this into the end zone." He added that JCPenney will have $1 billion in cash after the deal is done, the AP reports. (More JCPenney stories.)

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