Bon-Ton in $84M Deal With a REIT to Sell 6 Properties and Lease Them Back

Bon-Ton, like a number of other retailers, is turning some of its real estate into cash. The department store on Monday announced an $84 million deal with a real estate investment trust in which it will sell six properties and lease them back. Last week Darden Restaurants Inc. said that it would create a real estate investment trust and transfer about 430 owned restaurant properties to the new entity, with essentially all of them being leased back to Darden. Sears Holdings Corp. is planning to sell more than 250 properties to a REIT it created. And McDonald's told The Wall Street Journal last week that it was trying to sell its stores in Taiwan to a franchise operator.