"A B.C. billionaire who spent the summer fighting to move into former Hudson's Bay properties found herself on the losing end of an Ontario Superior Court decision on Friday. Judge Peter Osborne ruled that landlords for the collapsed retailer will not be forced to accept Ruby Liu as a tenant. In his judgment, Osborne said he had significant concerns about Liu's ability to meet the terms of the leases she wanted."
"It was back in March that Hudson's Bay, riddled with $1.1 billion in debt, filed for creditor protection. Unable to find a buyer, it later liquidated its 80 stores and 16 more from Saks, and then turned its attention to assets such as its leases, intellectual property and art. A lease-bidding process netted a dozen bids for 39 properties. YM Inc., which owns mall brands like Bluenotes, took five for $5.03 million."
"But the biggest bid came from Liu, who dreamed of opening a new department store chain named after herself. She wanted up to 28 leases to accomplish the feat and in May, the Bay announced it was willing to sell them to her. Three of them easily won court approval because they were at properties in B.C. malls Liu owns Woodgrove Centre, Mayfair Shopping Centre and Tsawwassen Mills."
Ruby Liu sought to acquire up to 28 former Hudson's Bay leases to launch a department store chain bearing her name. Major landlords including Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties and Ivanhoe Cambridge opposed her proposed $69.1 million purchase of 25 leases. A judge reviewed extensive submissions and concluded landlords need not be forced to accept Liu as a tenant, citing significant concerns about her capacity to satisfy lease obligations. Hudson's Bay filed for creditor protection amid $1.1 billion of debt, liquidated stores, and sold various assets through a lease-bidding process that produced multiple buyers and dozens of bids.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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