Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has signed a deal to sell roughly half its real estate to a private-equity firm and lease back the space in a transaction that will generate more than $250 million in proceeds for the troubled home-goods retailer, the Wall Street Journal reported. The 2.1 million square feet of space sold to Oak Street Real Estate Capital LLC includes the company’s Union, N.J., headquarters, a distribution facility and an undisclosed number of its roughly 1,500 stores. Bed Bath & Beyond will continue to occupy the properties under long-term leases. The company is expected to evaluate the rest of its real estate and retail concepts, which include the Buy Buy Baby chain and Harmon drugstores. The proceeds will be used to repay debt, buy back shares and fund a turnaround effort under new Chief Executive Mark Tritton, who joined the company in November from Target Corp., where he was the chief merchant.
