Seritage Moves To Sell All Its Assets, Dissolve

The board of trustees of Seritage Growth Properties has unanimously recommended that the company’s shareholders vote to approve a plan to sell all of the company's assets and then dissolve. The plan would distribute the net proceeds of the sale to shareholders. 

Once shareholders approve the plan, the company will be free to sell its assets without further approvals, which Seritage said will "increase the universe of potential buyers."

With former Seritage Chairman Edward Lampert on board with the plan, approval looks likely.

Lampert has exchanged his equity interest in the company’s operating partnership for Seritage common shares and has agreed to vote his shares in favor of the plan. As of July 6, Lampert owned about 29.1% of the company’s outstanding Class A common shares.

As of first-quarter 2022, Seritage held interests in 161 properties totaling about 19M SF. The company also owns about 600 developable acres. The company was originally formed in the mid-2010s to own former Sears and Kmart sites, but more recently has diversified into other property types.

Seritage has also appointed Adam Metz as chairman of the board of trustees. Metz, who was appointed to the Seritage board in March, is a former managing director and head of international real estate at Carlyle Group.

Investors reacted positively to news of the potential sale and dissolution. In the first hours of trading on Friday, Seritage stock shot up more than 66%. Its stock is now trading at nearly double its price at the beginning of this week.