- PetSmart to Sell Itself to Investor Group for $8.7 Billion “The biggest private equity deal of 2014 — in a year of huge takeovers of cable providers and drug manufacturers — is a bet on the lucrativeness of dog food and catnip. PetSmart agreed on Sunday to sell itself to a group led by the investment firm BC Partners for about $8.7 billion, months after the retailer came under pressure from two hedge funds.” (The New York Times)
- Schorsch Resigns as Chairman of American Realty Capital “Three top executives resigned from American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (ARCP), the U.S. real estate investment trust that has lost more than a quarter of its value since disclosing accounting errors. Nicholas Schorsch stepped down as executive chairman and a director of the New York-based landlord, the company said in a statement today. Chief Executive Officer David Kay also resigned, as didLisa Beeson, president and chief operating officer.” (Bloomberg)
- Cushman & Wakefield to Acquire Massey Knakal “Real-estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc., has agreed to pay about $100 million to acquire Massey Knakal Realty Services, a boutique brokerage that dominates the New York market for midsize office, retail and apartment building sales, according to people familiar with the deal.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- An Overreliance on Real Estate for Income “Starting a company is risky business, especially when you’re young and funding it with your own money. That’s what Jordan Walker Lin, a 28-year-old Toronto resident, learned—the hard way—when he launched a real-estate software company five years ago.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- What’s in Store for Walgreen Now “With the pending retirement of CEO Greg Wasson and the earlier departure of much of his executive team, Pessina will take charge as acting CEO once Walgreen and Alliance Boots complete the second step of their merger in the first quarter. The 73-year-old executive chairman of Boots Alliance and world-class tycoon—he's Monaco's richest resident—will have no time to waste. His first and foremost task: how to make more money from the combined U.S. and European drugstore chain.” (Crain’s Chicago Business)
- New York to Award First Vegas-Style Casino Licenses This Week “New York state plans to award its first full-scale casino licenses this week as Caesars Entertainment Corp. (CZR) and Genting Bhd. (GENM) vie to build a gambling palace within an hour’s drive of the Big Apple’s 8.4 million residents. Four other publicly traded companies -- Empire Resorts Inc. (NYNY), Penn National Gaming Inc. (PENN), Churchill Downs Inc. (CHDN) and Full House Resorts Inc. (FLL) -- are among 16 bids for as many as four licenses.” (Bloomberg)
- Acro-Rate-O-Phobia (the Fear of Rising Interest Rates) is Pushing Buyers into the Market “A fear of rising interest rates in the months ahead is prompting some homebuyers to jump into the sales market — putting pressure on brokers to turn deals around quickly while low rates are locked in. Although it’s anyone’s guess when — and if — rates will increase (see story on page 50), many buyers don’t want to chance it, agents said.” (The Real Deal)
- Stop Blaming Store Size for Weak Results: DDR CEO “Forget what you've heard—size doesn't always matter. As analysts call for retailers to shrink their store counts, store sizes or sometimes both, the CEO of a major retail real estate firm said it's important to remember that there are no real estate maneuvers that can bail out a bad retailer.” (CNBC)
- Rat Plague Worsens at 1 WTC “In November, Vogue staffers — including the magazine’s matriarch, Anna Wintour — said that they were avoiding their new offices due to a ‘rat infestation.’ Now sources tell the New York Daily News that the rats have ‘taken over.’ ‘A bunch ate through the ceiling of a sports editor’s office and crawled all over his desk and left poops on his keyboard,’ said a source. ‘They ate through his rug to fit under his door.’” (The Real Deal)
- Lawsuit Blames San Diego Mall in Shooting Deaths of 3 in its Parking Lot “A San Diego shopping mall was negligent in not providing better security measures that might have prevented the Christmas Eve shooting deaths of three persons in its parking lot, a lawsuit asserts. Filed by attorney Daniel Gilleon in San Diego County Superior Court, the lawsuit says that the mall's owner, Westfield Centers, ‘failed to use reasonable care to protect their patrons, guests, tenants and invitees.’” (Los Angeles Times)
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