Copper Property Trust has entered into a binding agreement to sell its remaining portfolio of retail real estate assets to Onyx Partners, marking a significant milestone in its ongoing liquidation process. The agreement, finalized on July 23, 2025, encompasses 119 retail properties and establishes a purchase price of $947 million, to be paid in an all-cash transaction. The sale price represents a cap rate of approximately 10.4%, which translates to roughly $8 million per property, about $60 per building square foot and $22 per land square foot.
The assets, which originated from J.C. Penney’s bankruptcy reorganization in 2020, are currently subject to a long-term triple-net master lease with Penney Intermediate Holdings. After an extensive national marketing campaign led by Newmark, the portfolio drew significant interest from a diverse group of potential buyers, who submitted offers for individual properties, sub-portfolios, and the entire collection.
After careful evaluation, Onyx Partners was selected “based on their capability to close, their business strategy and the offered purchase terms,” CEO Neil Aronson said on an investor call.
The transaction is scheduled to close on or before September 8, 2025, subject to standard real estate closing conditions. At that point, Copper Property Trust intends to distribute net proceeds to certificate holders. After estimated closing costs of 1.5% to 2%, the initial distribution is expected to range between $928 million and $932 million. Additional distributions, including rent prorations and a reduction of cash reserves from $25 million to $10 million, will be made in the months following the transaction's closure.
“We anticipate that the distribution will be $947 million less closing costs, which are estimated to be between one and a half and two percent; therefore we’re looking at the distribution of $928 to $932 million,” said Principal Financial Officer Larry Finger, during the call.
Executives highlighted the competitive and thorough nature of the marketing process conducted by Newmark. “We had multiple bidders under every scenario that we asked for them, and it was sort of our job, in coordination with Newmark, to really parse through all those bids, do a lot of due diligence,” Aronson said. “There was not one specific factor that led us to our conclusion, but we were absolutely led to the conclusion that the group that we went with was the best bid for our circumstances.”
The management team also addressed investor questions about the transaction’s pricing and the overall process, noting that the unique aspects of the portfolio—specifically its reliance on a single tenant—were a critical consideration. “We believe we have achieved a very fair price for the portfolio,” Aronson stated. Finger further noted, “Our portfolio is different and distinguished from most other REITs in the marketplace ... We have one tenant and one tenant was a department store. So ... they’re very, very different animals.”
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