Can We Trust the Borders Bump?

One chain that is on the watch list of many industry observers this year for mass store closings is Borders Group. It is second place to Barnes & Noble in a flailing retail sector with only two major national chains pressured by technology.

Plus, it consistently reports weak earnings, at least, until its fourth quarter results came out earlier this week. Borders earned just under $60 million, nearly doubling what it brought in during the same year-ago period, and its stock soared as a result.

Target Proxy Battle Heats Up

William Ackman, leader of the investment firm Pershing Square Capital Management, introduced yesterday four executives he would like to see on Target’s board of directors. One of them is Jim Donald, a former Starbucks CEO who has also worked with grocer Pathmark and Wal-Mart.

“We think we can make this a better company if we improve the board,” Ackman said at a meeting in Manhattan, according to this article.

Will a Target Takeover Happen?

William Ackman, the head of investment group Pershing Square Capital Management, is not backing down from his proposed takeover of Target Corp.

Pershing, which controls 7.8% of the retailer’s stock, is trying to convince shareholders to vote five people on to the company’s board. Target, on the other hand, is trying to get its current board members reelected.

Target Not Biting? Why Not Buy GGP?

After proposing that Target’s real estate gets folded into a REIT and getting rejected, Pershing Square Capital Management has now turned its sights to General Growth Properties.

The website-less fund, managed by William Ackman, has now apparently acquired a 20% interest in the mall owner. In a Bloomberg article, Merrill Lynch analysts say it “is the first sign that any investor has expressed a strong interest in the company or sees significant value beyond the mountain of debt.”

Should Target Have a REIT Spin Off?

William Ackman, a 10% shareholder of the discounter, thinks so. The head of Pershing Square Capital Management is proposing that Target spin off its company-owned stores and land into an Inflation-Protected REIT.

Its real estate would then enter a 75-year triple-net-lease-deal for the stores. Ackman says TIP REIT, as he calls it, would be the largest of its kind, with its $27.5-billion market value eclipsing Simon Property Group’s $20.8 billion.