Is your favorite retailer open? Major shopping center operators in the Triad are leaving that up to their tenants, but properties that remain open are taking preventive measures, including the reduction of store hours.
While one major St. Louis-area mall is shuttering completely, others remain open on regular or reduced hours, as property owners and retailers react to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
CBL Properties (NYSE:CBL) today announced that the Company has rescheduled its report of earnings for the first quarter 2020 due to a delay in completion of a third party report necessary to finalize CBL’s financial statements. The delay was related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Company now plans to issue its earnings release after the close of market on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.
CBL Properties announces moves to solidify its financial position as Hanes Mall and Friendly Center close until April 16. Four Seasons Town Center in Greensboro is also closing.
Q4 2019 CBL & Associates Properties Inc Earnings Call
(Bloomberg) -- CBL & Associates Properties Inc. hired Moelis & Co. and Weil Gotshal & Manges as it seeks advice on strategic and financing options including restructuring, according to people with knowledge of the matter.The owner of shopping malls is exploring ways to recapitalize including an exchange offer, in which senior holders of unsecured debt swap their investments for secured debt, said one of the people, who requested anonymity because the matter is private. The Chattanooga, Tennessee-based company may also discuss a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing as a last resort, some of the people said.A group of CBL’s creditors has hired advisers including PJT Partners Inc. and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, some of the people said. Calls for comment to CBL, Weil and Akin weren’t immediately returned. Representatives for Moelis and PJT declined to comment.The real estate investment trust’s shares fell as much as 11% Tuesday morning. They have dropped 68% this year, cutting the company’s market capitalization to $63 million.CBL operates more than 100 properties across 26 states, most of which are so-called Class B malls, and has been hurt in part by the closures of retailers including Forever 21. Its top tenants based on revenue at year-end included L Brands Inc., Signet Jewelers Ltd., Foot Locker Inc., a unit of American Eagle Outfitters Inc., Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and Ascena Retail Group Inc., filings show.CBL said this month that it was taking actions to offset the anticipated impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on revenue and cash flow. Chairman Charles Lebovitz, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Lebovitz, President Michael Lebovitz and independent directors agreed to reduce their salaries and fees by 50%.The company, which is scheduled to report first-quarter results on May 4, has withdrawn 2020 earnings guidance and discontinued its dividend. Fitch downgraded the company’s long-term rating and said it expects “that an event of default or an exchange/restructuring of existing debt is probable within 12 months.”CBL’s bonds maturing in 2026 last traded at about 26 cents on the dollar, according to data from Trace.(Updates with share price in fourth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the...
CBL Properties (NYSE:CBL) announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, and provided a further update on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its financial and operational performance. A description of each supplemental non-GAAP financial measure and the related reconciliation to the comparable GAAP financial measure is located at the end of this news release.
It isn’t yet clear how many retailers will pay rent in April, but the numbers aren’t looking good for investors who own shopping-mall properties.
CBL Properties (NYSE: CBL) announced details for the release of its results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2020.
CBL Properties (NYSE:CBL) today provided a further update on its portfolio and the Company’s actions to offset anticipated impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s revenue and cash flows.
Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has downgraded the ratings of CBL & Associates Limited Partnership ("CBL"), including the senior unsecured debt rating to Caa3 from Caa1, the corporate family rating to Caa1 from B2 and the speculative grade liquidity rating to SGL-4 from SGL-3. The rating downgrade reflects Moody's expectation that the secured financing available for CBL's less productive malls has weakened materially, limiting the alternative liquidity provided by CBL's remaining low quality unencumbered asset pool. The current more challenging operating environment facing mall REITs also suggests an increasing probability of a distressed debt exchange for a weak mall REIT such as CBL when its unsecured debt requires refinancing beginning in 2023.
CBL Properties (NYSE:CBL) today issued the following statement regarding COVID-19 events and impacts:
Please replace the revised version to correct certain Q4 2019 financial information issued on February 6, 2020, at 4:15 p.m. ET. Please refer to Form 8-K/A furnished on March 11, 2020, for additional information.
WeissLaw LLP, a national class action and shareholders' rights law firm with offices in New York, California and Georgia, announces an investigation of the Board of Directors and executives of CBL Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE: CBL) ("CBL" or the "Company"), for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law in connection with their unlawful concealment of (and the lack of proper internal controls resulting in) the payment by CBL of the uninsured sum of $90 million in settlement of claims of racketeering for overcharging retail tenants. The full misconduct was disclosed on March 26, 2019, when CBL filed a Form 8-K with the SEC containing a press release containing the information.
The ratings on eight P&I classes were affirmed because the transaction's key metrics, including Moody's loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, Moody's stressed debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) and the transaction's Herfindahl Index (Herf), are within acceptable ranges. The ratings on three P&I classes were downgraded due to the decline in performance and upcoming refinance risk of four loans (40.9% of the pool) secured by regional malls comprising of ; Northridge Fashion Center, Town Center at Cobb, Florence Mall, and Fashion Square, and the anticipated losses from troubled loans.
Rating Action: Moody's affirms seven and downgrades five classes of JPMCC 2012- CIBX. Global Credit Research- 22 May 2020. Approximately $755 million of structured securities affected.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Lakeside shopping center, just outside of London, is a mecca of consumerism. It’s situated in the county of Essex, which loves shopping so much that a reality TV show captures the exploits of its glamorous, bauble-buying residents.But since last week, the mall has been open for only essential purchases, in line with government guidance. Its owner Intu Properties Plc said last Thursday that it had collected just 29% of the rent due from its tenants there and around the country. At the same time last year, it had received 77% of the amount due. Occupants including Associated British Foods Plc’s Primark and Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB, which has shuttered thousands of stores around the world, are withholding payments or seeking better terms.It’s a scenario that’s being repeated on both sides of the Atlantic. Cheesecake Factory Inc., which has 294 stores throughout the U.S. and Canada, said in a filing last week that it would not pay its April rent, and that was in discussions with its landlords, a who’s who of American mall owners.While consumer-facing groups such as apparel chains have been the first shoe to drop, landlords look set to be the next. Retailers are bracing for a prolonged shutdown. On Monday, Macy’s Inc. said it was forloughing most of its 130,000 strong workforce after losing the majority of its sales because of store closures.No wonder some, such as U.S. mall owner Taubman Centers Inc., are fighting back. It told tenants in a memo that they still have to pay, although it added that it’s working with affected occupiers.The developing stand-off will do nothing to help the plight of stores, nor in the longer term, shopping center owners. As I have argued, the fall-out from the catastrophic loss of business from the coronavirus retail crisis needs to be shared. Some consequences will have to be borne downstream, by suppliers; some upstream, by landlords.But this could be tricky. With fixed assets like malls, it’s not easy to adjust the cost base. Some also have significant borrowings. Lenders may have to bear some of the burden, while government relief looks increasingly necessary. My colleague Brian Chappatta has warned of the potential dangers to the mortgage market.Intu, which owns 17 U.K. malls including Manchester’s Trafford Center and the Metrocentre in Gateshead, is particularly vulnerable. Even before the outbreak, it was struggling under a mountain of borrowings. It said last Thursday that it was in talks with its lenders on waiving covenants, and that it could access the U.K. government’s 330 billion-pound ($410 billion) support mechanism.Meanwhile, in the U.S., mall owners CBL & Associates Properties Inc., Macerich Co. and Taubman stand out for their above average net debt-to-Ebitda ratios and heavy use of secured lending, according to Lindsay Dutch, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.Others look to be in a better position.Simon Property Group Inc. has one of the strongest balance sheets. But it agreed in February to buy Taubman for $3.6 billion. This deal, if it goes ahead, together with the Covid-19 impact, could increase Simon’s net debt to 7 times Ebitda at the end of 2020, from 5.6 times a year earlier, according to Moody’s. Taubman has some prize assets, such as the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey and the Gardens Mall in Florida , but the higher leverage and integration will be more challenging in the current environment.Indeed, there will be pain even for the most solid operators. Simon is the biggest landlord to Cheesecake Factory, according to analysts at RBC Capital Markets.But even when the virus abates, the retail landscape won’t be the same. Some weaker stores and restaurants will not re-open their doors. For others, it will take considerable time for demand to return to normal.A frank conversation between retailers and landlords is needed to settle on ways for making it easier for everyone to weather this crisis. Alterations could include moving to monthly rent payments in cases where retailers are still expected to pay quarterly installments in advance, and doing so without any additional fees to facilitate the switch. Making it easier for tenants to break leases would also avoid time consuming and costly processes to exit agreements.While that may seem to favor retailers more than landlords, mall owners too have something to gain. The pandemic, and the retail shake-out that will inevitably follow, will exacerbate the divergence between the most muscular stores and restaurants and the laggards. It will also polarize the vibrant malls and secondary locations even more.To prosper in this new reality, mall owners will need to ensure they can attract the most desirable brands. The retailers that do emerge from the wreckage will remember how they were treated when the chips were down. On both sides, even-handed negotiations are the best way to help all parties recover, rather than risking bringing about the death of the mall for once and for all.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the consumer and retail industries. She previously worked at the Financial Times.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
The ratings on five P&I classes were affirmed because the transaction's key metrics, including Moody's loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, Moody's stressed debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) and the transaction's Herfindahl Index (Herf), are within acceptable ranges. Moody's rating action reflects a base expected loss of 8.9% of the current pooled balance, compared to 5.6% at Moody's last review.
Rating Action: Moody's affirms seven and downgrades five classes of JPMCC 2012- CIBX. Global Credit Research- 22 May 2020. Approximately $755 million of structured securities affected.