Marquee Brands LLC, a brand licensing firm, is reportedly leading a consortium “stalking horse” bid for BCBG Max Azria Group LLC that would enable the retailer to exit bankruptcy while retaining 15 to 20 stores. The consortium is said to include Global Brands Group Holding Limited, Liquidators Hilco Global and Gordon Brothers. The bid must be at least $150 million and approved by a federal judge for the consortium to take control. Via Business of Fashion
Private equity giant Blackstone has offered to acquire Sponda, a Finnish real estate company, for approximately $2 billion. Although the all-cash offer to purchase all shares reflects a 20% premium on Sponda’s per-share stock price, a March valuation found the Finland-based company’s office and retail assets to be worth nearly $4 billion. James Seppala, head of European real estate at Blackstone, said in a statement that, “Our proposed acquisition represents another step in Blackstone’s long-standing strategy of investing in high quality real estate assets and businesses across the Nordic region.” Via Reuters
The warehouse buying spree in Denver by marijuana growers may face stunted growth following a decision to limit the number of grow operations in the city. About 4.2 million square feet of industrial space in metro Denver were occupied by cannabis growers at the end of 2016, a 14 percent increase from second-quarter 2015, according to CBRE. A cap on industry of no more than 467 warehouses is reportedly on the city’s agenda. On April 1, 450 locations were already active, and 30 applications pending for sites within Denver’s city lines. via Denver Post
More News to Note:
Lois Weiss asks where the American buyers of commercial real estate have gone
Retailers are looking for large distribution spaces in Houston
Cress Capital spends $110M on office and flex-industrial portfolio buys in California
