• Home
  • News
  • Business
  • HBC investors call for debt reduction

HBC investors call for debt reduction

By Kristopher Fraser

loading...

Scroll down to read more

Lately, HBC seems to be a bit strapped for cash. To reduce their debt, HBC has looked to its retail portfolio to reduce their debt. However, the department store chain's shareholders want HBC to return the cash to them and not invest the proceeds in traditional retail operations.

Hudson's Bay is familiar with real estate operations, but now controversy is afoot as tensions rise with activist shareholder Land & Buildings, a Connecticut-based hedge fund, which holds 5 percent stake in the company. The aforementioned company values HBC's real estate at 28 dollars a share.

"The perception, and in some cases, the reality, is that (Amazon.com Inc) is speeding bricks and mortar retailers into submission," said Jonathan Norwood of Mackenzie Investments, HBC's eighth-biggest shareholder, to Business of Fashion.

"If they sell the real estate, we want to see the money used to reduce debt and returned to shareholders," added Norwood, who co-leads Mackenzie's value-focused Cundill team. "We don't want it going to revitalize or grow the retail operations."

HBC is currently exploring the sale of its Vancouver flagship estimated at 628.4 million dollars. The company recently sold their iconic Lord & Taylor Manhattan flagship earlier this year.

There has also been discussion of HBC selling their German stores to Signa holdings.

While HBC is going on a selling spree with their real estate, they aren't expected to sell all of their stores.

HBC