NEW YORK — Federated Department Stores will sell 15 units to The Westfield Group, the Australian shopping center developer, as part of the divestiture resulting from its acquisition of May Department Stores last year.
Thirteen of the stores are on Federated’s list of locations to be sold because the company already operates units in those malls. Coupled with a previously announced deal to sell 10 stores to Boscov’s, Federated still has 55 department stores remaining on its list of planned divestitures.
Federated also has the Lord & Taylor division and its bridal group on the block. There is speculation that a management buyout of the bridal group might be in the works, led by Robert Huth, president and chief executive officer of the bridal group. Reached at his Conshohocken, Pa., headquarters, Huth declined to comment. One former May executive said that even before Federated bought May, the management of the bridal group contemplated buying the business. The $700 million bridal group operates about 700 stores under the names David’s Bridal, After Hours Formalwear and Priscilla of Boston.
Speaking about the Federated deal, a Westfield spokeswoman said: “Westfield has a strong track record in the U.S. of acquiring former department store real estate and reorienting the mix in our centers with new anchors, shops and/or new entertainment and lifestyle elements. The acquisition creates new opportunities to further reinvest in and improve our portfolio, and Westfield is in discussions with other anchors as well as cinema operators, lifestyle retailers and signature restaurants — stay tuned.”
The stores Federated is selling to Westfield include six Macy’s, located in Mansfield, Ohio; Trumbull, Conn., and Escondido, Palm Desert (home and apparel stores) and West Covina, Calif., and six Robinsons-May units in Culver City, Santa Ana, Escondido, Carlsbad, Arcadia and La Jolla, Calif. Federated also is selling two other Macy’s to Westfield, in La Jolla and Santa Ana, and in a swap arrangement, will get ownership of 12 stores from Westfield that previously were leased.
Federated said proceeds from this transaction will be included in the $400 million to $500 million worth of after-tax proceeds expected from the sale of duplicate stores nationwide, as previously announced.