Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Be Careful Of This Sale-Leaseback

I saw this Bloomberg article last week in the wake of JC Penney's recent management upheaval.  Apparently, one scheme Penney is considering to raise capital is to sell off its real estate and then lease it back.  Sale-leasebacks can be great deals for both sellers (they get upfront cash) and buyers (they get long-term lease income).  In the case of Penney, if it does execute this strategy, someone better look closely at the creditworthiness of whatever entity is responsible for the leases.  I'd be curious to know the location of the underlying properties, too, as I suspect Penney's in more than a few downtrodden malls.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Could be distribution centers, right?

Rational Realist said...

Yes, I would guess any real estate Penney's owns could be included. Penney's recent financing may have taken this strategy off the table, though.