Since the Texas bankruptcy court’s approval last month of the sale of its retail business to landlords Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management Inc., the deal has officially closed, the retailer said Monday.
“Today is an exciting day for our company, as we have accomplished our goal of putting J.C. Penney on a secure path for the future as a private company so that we can continue to serve our loyal customers,” said J.C. Penney chief executive officer Jill Soltau. “With this closing, our operating company has exited Chapter 11 and is continuing under new ownership and the J.C. Penney banner.”
The PropCos and the OpCo will work in tandem through master lease agreements, which were hammered out also over the course of negotiations and mediations before another bankruptcy judge in the same court. The sale of the operating company, or OpCo., leaves the retailer with $1.5 billion in financing, the parties said Monday.