Ontario — The 68 stores total 3 million square feet and are all located in western Canada.
Ontario — Empire Co. Ltd., the parent company of Canadian grocer Sobeys Inc., has sold 68 stores formerly owned by rival Safeway Inc. to Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust for $961.6 million. The transaction will help finance Sobeys $5.7 billion purchase of Safeway’s Canadian operations.
The stores sold to Crombie, which total 3 million square feet, are all located in western Canada. The average annual rent for all 68 locations is $57.1 million with lease terms of 15 to 20 years.
Sobeys will lease the stores back from Crombie, completing a portion of its larger acquisition of Canada Safeway earlier this year.
Crombie is an Ontario-based real estate investment trust. It owns a portfolio of 176 properties in nine Canadian provinces totaling 14.5 million square feet.
SOURCE: Sobeys Inc.