(Ian Ritter is national online editor for GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

NEW YORK CITY-New Plan Excel has sold 15 neighborhood and community shopping centers to Phillips Edison & Co. for $68.5 million. The assets, located in 10 states, are mostly in the Southeast and are not part of locally based New Plan's core portfolio.

New Plan's management says it will use the proceeds to pay for general corporate purposes, including the payment of debt on its $350-million revolving credit facility. The company will record a real estate impairment of one cent per share in the fourth quarter as a result of the transaction. New Plan executive will release the deal's capitalization rate with its Q4 earnings on Feb. 22.

The centers range in size from the 59,407-sf Cloverdale Village, in Florence, AL; to the 195,781-sf D&F Plaza, in Dunkirk, NY. Chains that are anchors at multiple centers involved in the deal include, Big Lots, Kmart and Winn-Dixie.