Vornado to unload huge chunk of JC Penney stock

Steven Roth
Steven Roth

Steven Roth, the chairman of Vornado Realty Trust, is selling off 40 percent of the real estate investment trust’s stake in struggling retailer JC Penney, amounting to some 10 million shares, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

Vornado owns a total of 23.4 million shares in JC Penney. Last week, Vornado took a $225 million loss on the shares, as well as a $76 million loss on JC Penney-exposed derivatives. The REIT is shopping the stock for between $16.40 and $16.60 per share, sources told the Journal.

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JC Penney has seen sales fall by $4.3 billion during the last fiscal year and its shares slip by half. Indeed, last week, a Forbes columnist speculated that Vornado’s bet on JC Penney led to CEO Michael Fascitelli’s resignation. [WSJ]Zachary Kussin