Latest news with #receivership
National Post
2 days ago
- Business
- National Post
RioCan Successfully Transitions the RioCan-HBC Joint Venture into a Receivership Process to Preserve and Maximize the Value of its Assets
Article content TORONTO — RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust ('RioCan' or the 'Trust') (TSX: announced today that a receivership process has been established to protect the interests of RioCan and the other stakeholders in the RioCan-HBC Joint Venture (the 'JV'). The receivership proceeding will create a structured process within which RioCan can work with a receiver and other stakeholders to advance and execute solutions for the JV's properties to benefit the JV and its stakeholders. This includes activities such as dispositions, re-leasing and advancing potential redevelopment opportunities of individual properties. RioCan's exposure to Hudson's Bay Company ('HBC'), whether as a limited partner, secured lender or guarantor of certain JV obligations remains unchanged as a result of the receivership proceeding. For further information on the JV, please refer to RioCan's press release dated March 18, 2025, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Provides Update on Hudson's Bay Company's CCAA Filing. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) has granted RioCan's application to appoint FTI Consulting Canada Inc. ('FTI' or the 'Receiver') as the receiver over all of the assets and properties of the JV. The JV's receivership proceeding will be a single proceeding that focuses solely on the JV's assets, and advanced in parallel with the HBC Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ('CCAA') proceeding. Article content FTI, as the Receiver, will immediately take steps and actions with respect to the JV and its assets in order to preserve and maximize value for the benefit of RioCan and other JV stakeholders. FTI has extensive experience in restructurings and court-appointed receivership proceedings. FTI will oversee the affairs of the JV specifically, managing the process independently of the HBC CCAA proceeding. Pursuant to the court order appointing the Receiver, the JV's leasehold and 100% owned properties will benefit from a stay of proceedings to allow the Receiver and its stakeholders sufficient time to take such steps as are necessary to effectively deal with the JV's assets. The co-owned properties of the JV will continue to be managed by RioCan in the normal course. Article content About RioCan Article content RioCan is one of Canada's largest real estate investment trusts. RioCan owns, manages and develops retail-focused, mixed-use properties located in prime, high-density transit-oriented areas where Canadians want to shop, live and work. As at March 31, 2025, our portfolio is comprised of 177 properties with an aggregate net leasable area of approximately 32 million square feet (at RioCan's interest). To learn more about us, please visit Article content This News Release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. This information reflects RioCan's objectives, our strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as statements with respect to management's beliefs, estimates and intentions concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts. Forward-looking information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'outlook', 'objective', 'may', 'will', 'would', 'expect', 'intend', 'estimate', 'anticipate', 'believe', 'should', 'plan', 'continue', or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. All forward-looking information in this News Release is qualified by these cautionary statements. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future events or performance and, by its nature, is based on RioCan's current estimates and assumptions, which are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described in the ' Risks and Uncertainties ' section in RioCan's MD&A for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and in our most recent Annual Information Form, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the forward-looking information contained in this News Release. Although the forward-looking information contained in this News Release is based upon what management believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with this forward-looking information. Article content The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are made as of the date hereof, and should not be relied upon as representing RioCan's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this News Release. Management undertakes no obligation, except as required by applicable law, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Article content
CTV News
7 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Group looking for buyers for Sault mall ‘excited' about the opportunity
While it's been a tough few years for the Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie, the real estate group seeking buyers says it's an attractive property for many prospective owners. While it's been a tough few years for the Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie, the real estate group seeking buyers says it's an attractive property for many prospective owners. Since 2017, the mall lost two of its anchor tenants – Walmart and Sears – and struggled with many other malls as shoppers worldwide increasingly went online, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. sears Liquidation sales begin at 54 locations across the country, including at the Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie. A sale to SM Holdings in June 2022 for $30 million floundered when the group failed to pay $18 million of a take-back mortgage due in June 2024 to Algoma Central Corp., the original mall owners dating back to the 1970s. 'A court order imposed a deadline of Jan. 16, 2025, for the full mortgage amount, including accrued interest, to be paid,' Algoma Central said in an update to shareholders. 'The repayment deadline was not met and the court has ordered commencement of receivership proceedings to recoup the mortgage.' B. Reilly Farber was appointed receiver. In turn, it selected CBRE, a commercial real estate firm, to take the lead in lining up potential buyers for the mall. Station Mall has around 475,000 square feet of space that can be leased on 35 acres of downtown property on the waterfront along the St. Marys River. Station Mall announced $60M redevelopment In an interview with CTV News, CBRE vice-chairman Mike Czestochowski said while building new commercial properties right now is a major challenge because of costs, finding buyers for older retail is a much easier sell. Properties such as the Station Mall are more attractive because the infrastructure is in good condition. 'All that's happened has strengthened older retail,' Czestochowski said. 'The mall itself is in really good shape. It's being managed by CBRE and when we walked through it, I was pleasantly surprised at how good everything looked -- it's in really good shape.' The mall also has zoning in place to allow for redevelopment opportunities, including residential and commercial uses. Lauren White, an executive vice-president with CBRE, said the property has been on the market for a couple of weeks. 'We haven't set an offer date yet – we'll probably do that in the coming weeks,' White said. 'It's early in the process, but we are happy with the level of activity so far.' 'The mall itself is in really good shape. It's being managed by CBRE and when we walked through it, I was pleasantly surprised at how good everything looked -- it's in really good shape.' — CBRE vice-chairman Mike Czestochowski Once an agreement is in place, she said the sale would have to receive court approval. Czestochowski said that usually the likely buyer emerges as the process unfolds. 'In most cases, it's pretty clear,' he said. 'By the time you go through the process, multiple rounds of offers, generally, someone stands out. By the end of it, we know who is best suited and is one to pay the best price for the mall.' Currently, almost 54 per cent of the mall is vacant, but that figure is largely driven by the absence of the two anchor tenants, Sears and Walmart. Czestochowski said when dealing with potential tenants, it's often easier to rent large spaces than smaller ones. 'When I see big chunks of empty space, I'm not as worried – I'm more worried about 1,000 square feet than I am about 50,000 square feet,' he said. 'Fifty thousand doesn't come along very often. So the tenants that would fill that space … really take note when space like this comes up in a mall that's so well located.' Station Mall The owners of Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie are keeping tight-lipped about their plans for the former Sears store. (Mike McDonald/CTV News) While CBRE wouldn't sign leases on behalf of the mall, they are speaking with potential tenants about the opportunity to lease. 'We're not as concerned about that vacant space,' Czestochowski said. 'We feel that with proper marketing and discussions, we can fill it.' White added that they're having ongoing discussions with potential tenants interested in the Station Mall. And Sean Comiskey, a senior vice-president with CBRE, said with strong ownership in place, he's confident in the mall's prospects. 'Tenants, you know, in the past may not have liked the partnership and therefore may have bypassed the space for another piece of space in the market,' Comiskey said. 'With a good operator in place. We don't see this vacancy lasting too long.' For his part, Czestochowski said they are happy to have the opportunity to help revive the mall. The company has a history in the Sault, and on a personal level, he has family who live in the city. 'I can tell you, when I got the call from the receiver to put forth a proposal, I was excited,' he said. 'I knew that it would generate a lot of interest … So at this point, we're very happy with the activity level and we're happy to have the listing.'
CTV News
7 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
RioCan REIT asks court to put joint venture with Hudson's Bay into receivership: docs
People cycle past the Hudson's Bay department store in downtown Montreal on Monday, March 17, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi TORONTO — RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust is pushing to put a joint venture it owned with Hudson's Bay into receivership. A court filing from the real estate firm asks the Ontario Superior Court to appoint FTI Consulting Canada Inc. receiver of the companies that span the venture. The filing says RioCan is pursuing a receivership because it thinks that is the best way to protect the venture's stakeholders and maximize value. Receivers are empowered by courts to take control of a company's assets, oversee their liquidation and repay creditors. The Hudson's Bay-RioCan venture was formed in 2015 and is made up of 12 properties the department store chain leases from the partnership. Alvarez & Marsal, a monitor appointed by the court to guide the Bay through creditor protection, says in its own filing that a process to find buyers for Bay leases did not nab any bids for the joint venture or its properties. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025. Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
CBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Yukon regulatory charges laid against Victoria Gold prior to heap leach failure stayed
Regulatory charges laid against Yukon mining company Victoria Gold over water management and storage practices at its heap leach facility in 2022 and 2023 have been stayed. The company, in 2024, was hit with a total of 14 counts under the territory's Waters and Quartz Mining acts. Both the laying of the charges and the alleged offences, which mostly involved transferring water to the heap leach facility even when available storage was below desired levels, predate the June 24, 2024, heap leach failure that shut down the mine's operations. The Yukon government's acting chief prosecutor, David McWhinnie, stayed the charges via letters submitted to the territorial court on Jan. 24. The letters do not provide a reason for the stays. Victoria Gold is currently in receivership following a Yukon government court application last August, after concerns that the company wasn't acting quickly enough to protect the environment following the heap leach failure.
Free Malaysia Today
27-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Collapsed Australian hospital operator gets 10 non-binding offers, says CEO
Australia's health minister Mark Butler said there would be no taxpayer-funded bailout for the company. (EPA Images pic) SYDNEY : Australia's Healthscope has received 10 non-binding indicative offers in a sale process that would take eight to 10 weeks to complete, its CEO said after the nation's second-largest private hospital operator was put into receivership today. Creditors are seeking a sale of Healthscope's business aimed at recouping what local media said was about A$1.6 billion (US$1.04 billion) in debt. CEO Tino La Spina told a press conference there was buyer interest in taking over the business as a whole, while assuring its hospital operations would continue as usual. 'We're confident that there is interest in taking Healthscope business as a whole. We have 10 non-binding indicative offers,' he said. 'There will be a change of ownership. Receivers have been appointed to sell off Healthscope hospital assets. But from the point of view of doctors, nurses, staff and patients, there's nothing to worry about – it's just business as usual.' In a separate press conference, Australia's health minister said he sought assurances from Healthscope that medical operations would proceed. 'I had a conversation in the past half an hour with the CEO and I sought an assurance from him that the thousands of Australians who right now have a birth plan or knee reconstruction booked can be confident that procedure will go ahead as planned and is booked,' health minister Mark Butler said. 'I received that assurance from the CEO and I have to say I will hold the company and the receivers and administrators to the commitment given to me and to Australian patients and staff,' Butler said. He added there would be no taxpayer-funded bailout for the company. Healthscope operates 37 hospitals across the country. Its lenders voted to place the company into receivership after being given control earlier by private equity owner Brookfield. La Spina said the 'core issues' facing Healthscope included too much secured debt and high rentals. Commonwealth Bank of Australia has also provided receivers McGrathNicol with a new A$100 million funding package to support operations during the sale process, Healthscope said in a statement.
