Experts on Federated-May

Erika Morphy is the co-editor of Real Estate Media’s Debt & Equity Journal, available at Debt & Equity Journal .

Few in the retail industry were truly surprised last month when Federal Department Stores Inc., which owns Macy’s and Bloomingdales, announced it would acquire May Department Stores Co., owner of Hecht’s and Lord & Taylor stores, in a $10.4 billion deal. Department stores have been in consolidation mode for years; rumors of this particular deal had been whispered about and reported on for weeks.

However, given the transaction’s size—with 501 stores in May’s portfolio and 459 in Federated’s, the two are the largest department store chains in the country—the implications for the retail real estate industry in general and, in particular, for REITs holding properties with both companies as tenants, are still unclear.