A British Columbia-based billionaire mall owner has signed a purchase agreement with Hudson’s Bay for 28 store leases in three provinces.
Weihong Liu, chairwoman of shopping mall owner and operator Central Walk, signed the deal Friday to take over more than 20 store leases in B.C., Alberta and Ontario, according to a source familiar with the beleaguered retailer’s restructuring plan.
Liu’s bid, along with any other sale of Hudson’s Bay’s assets, must be approved by the court when the retailer returns by May 30.
Liu, who owns three shopping malls in B.C.,. has made a series of videos on Chinese social media Rednote since early April, publicly expressing her interest in acquiring the beleaguered Canadian retail icon.
On Friday afternoon, she was seen in several videos posted on Rednote, surrounded by a group of people and reviewing contracts laid out on a desk.
The signing moment seemed staged for the cameras, with Liu and her entourage counting down in unison before putting pen to paper, then erupting into cheers and toasting the deal with flutes of champagne.
The 355-year-old department store chain, which plans to complete the liquidation of all its business by the end of May, sold its intellectual property, including the logo and brand name, to Canadian Tire last Thursday.
Hudson’s Bay is still in the process of selecting the winning bidders for its leases and other assets, but Weihong Liu is the first known buyer to have secured a set of leases.
The retailer has received 17 bids in the sales process in which its leases, intellectual property and real estate are up for grabs, and received 12 “qualified” bids on a total of 39 individual leases according to a court document.
No qualified bids were received for 62 leases, which means Hudson’s Bay may need to abandon some of these properties and face charges from landlords for breaking the lease agreements.
