Sale of more than 100 JC Penney locations falls through, ending near $1 billion deal

Five months after announcing a near $1 billion deal, the sale of more than 100 J.C. Penney locations appears to have fallen through. According to RetailDive, a regulatory filing shows that owner Copper Property CTL Pass Through Trust confirmed that the sale did not close as expected.

The filing goes on to say that if the buyer, Boston-based Onyx Partners, Ltd., does not close on the deal by Dec. 26 the agreement will be terminated.

In July, Onyx and Copper Property announced that Onyx would acquire 119 J.C. Penney locations in a deal valued at $947 million. At that time the two sides said they believed the sale would close in September. However, closing was delayed several times with the most recent estimated closing date set for Dec. 22.

The regulatory paperwork announcing the sale had fallen through was filed that same day.

It is unclear why the deal fell through, with Copper Property executives declining to comment on the matter to RetailDive.

The Copper Property Trust was established after J.C. Penney filed for bankruptcy in 2020. The trust was tasked with managing the leases at 160 retail properties and 6 warehouse distribution centers while it sought a buyer for the real estate. The trust does not own the J.C. Penney company.

Currently, the 123-year-old J.C. Penney operates more than 650 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.