Sears Canada has sold leases to five of its stores back to the real estate divisions of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec for $400 million.
Four of the five stores are owned by Cadillac Fairview, which is owned by Teachers’, and are located in Ontario: Toronto Eaton Centre, Sherway Gardens, Markville Shopping Centre and London-Masonville Place.
The fifth store is located at Richmond Centre in British Columbia and co-owned by Cadillac Fairview and Ivanhoé Cambridge, the Caisse’s real estate division.
The transaction requires Sears to leave the Toronto Eaton Centre, Sherway Gardens and London-Masonville stores by Feb. 28, 2014 and Markville and Richmond by Feb. 28, 2015.
Sears will retain the upper four full floors of the Toronto Eaton Centre to conduct its head office operations from that location.
The retailer has operated in London-Masonville since 1985, in Richmond Centre since 1989, in Markville since 1991, and in Sherway Gardens and the Toronto Eaton Centre since 2000.
Sears will continue to operate 111 full-line department stores after shutting down these five stores.
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