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FINANCE BRIEFS

Bain Capital Partners LLC completed its $2.1 billion buyout of Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. after stockholders in the retailer approved the merger. The deal takes Burlington Coat Factory and its 367 stores private. Bain previously has been part of acquisitions of such retailers as Toys ‘R’ Us, Burger King, Staples, Brookstone and others.

Capital Lease Funding, Inc. initiated a public offering of 5 million shares of common stock. The company also granted the underwriters of the offering the option to purchase an additional 750,000 shares to cover over-allotments. Friedman Billings Ramsey and Wachovia Securities are the joint book-running managers for the offering. Ryan Beck & Co. is a co-manager.

Convenience-store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. signed a deal to acquire Spectrum Stores, a 90-store Southeastern chain with $325 million in annual sales. The purchase price was not announced. The stores will be run through Spectrum Holding's U.S. subsidiary, Circle K. It will buy the land and the buildings for 58 locations. The rest are under leases.

Pennsylvania REIT completed the financing of the Woodland Mall, in Grand Rapids, Mich., with a new $156.5 million first mortgage loan. The loan bears interest at a rate of 5.58 percent and has a 10-year term. PREIT will make interest-only payments for the first three years before beginning to pay down the principal. PREIT used a portion of the proceeds to pay down two 90-day promissory notes worth a combined $94.4 million.

In a separate transaction, PREIT entered into a forward-starting interest rate swap to hedge against expected interest payments associated with the future issuance of long-term debt. The aggregate notional amount of these swaps is $150 million. A year ago, PREIT completed a similar swap agreement worth $370 million in connection with anticipated debt issuances in 2007 and 2008. In yet another retail privatization, Sun Capital Partners signed a letter of intent to acquire Marsh Supermarkets Inc. for $88 million. Sun Capital, is a private investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. Marsh operates several banners, including 154 Village Pantry convenience stores, 38 LoBill Foods stores, eight O'Malia Food Markets and two Arthur's Fresh Market stores.

The Lightstone Value Plus REIT completed its first deal with the acquisition of the 256,000-square-foot Belz Outlets in St. Augustine, Fla. for $26 million. The property will be managed by Prime Retail Property Management LLC, which is owned by Lightstone. The private REIT was launched earlier this year.

As part of a definitive agreement with Bank of New York Co., JPMorgan Chase acquired all of Bank of New York's retail locations in exchange for JPMorgan's corporate trust business. As part of the $3.1 billion deal, JPMorgan will take control of 338 branches in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut tri-state area.

Vornado Realty Trust tendered the 7.5 million common shares of Sears Canada Inc. that it owned to an affiliate of Sears Holdings Corp. The sale will result in a net gain of $53.4 million to Vornado, which it will recognize in the second quarter of 2006. Previously, Vornado received $22.9 million as part of a special dividend paid out by Sears Canada in 2005, giving it an aggregate net gain from its investment in Sears Canada of $76.3 million.

Feldman Equities Operating Partnership LP, a subsidiary of Feldman Mall Properties, completed the issuance and sale in a private placement of $28.5 million of preferred securities. The securities mature April 30, 2036 and are redeemable beginning on April 30, 2011. The securities bear distributions at a fixed rate of 8.698 percent per year. Feldman simultaneously issued 880 common securites having a liquidation amount of $880,000. It used the proceeds to purchase $29.4 million in junior subordinated notes.

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