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Forever 21 Inc. is moving forward with a sale to a group of buyers that includes Simon Property Group Inc. after no rival bidders qualified to challenge the offer, according to court filings, the Wall Street Journal reported. A group made up of Forever 21’s biggest landlords — Simon and Brookfield Property Partners LP — along with Authentic Brands Group LLC, a brand licensing firm, has offered $81 million for the bankrupt fast-fashion retailer. Forever 21 said on Sunday that it was scrapping a planned auction for yesterday after it didn’t receive any other qualified offers. The landlord takeover is similar to Simon Property’s acquisition of mall-based retailer Aéropostale Inc. in 2016. In that sale, the real-estate investment trust teamed with Authentic Brands and General Growth Properties on the deal.

As bankruptcies and store closures pile up among brick-and-mortar retailers, investors are increasingly concerned about mall operators, according to a Bloomberg News commentary. For the most part, those worries have centered on the landlords who operate dying malls. But as shoppers increasingly opt to stay home and embrace the convenience of online shopping, concern has extended to Simon Property Group Inc. and Taubman Centers Inc., high-end landlords that have each seen their shares hammered over the past year. Now, the rivals are poised to fight the retail woes together. On Monday, Simon announced it’s buying Taubman for $3.6 billion — a bid to expand by gobbling up a competitor. With malls under pressure to give customers a reason to leave their couches, they’re being forced to make costly improvements to the properties and add attractions like better dining options. Taubman, which owns about two dozen malls, needs to reinvest in its U.S. properties and Simon could help provide the capital required to do so, according to Lindsay Dutch, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Simon Property Group Inc. plans to take control of rival mall owner Taubman Centers Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported. Indianapolis-based Simon today said that it would pay $52.50 a share in cash for Taubman’s shares, giving it control over the Taubman subsidiary that owns all of that company’s interest in retail properties, the companies said Monday. The Taubman family will sell Simon about one-third of its ownership interest in Taubman and remain 20 percent owner in the operating subsidiary of its namesake real-estate firm. Simon will own 80 percent of the Taubman operating entity when the transaction is completed. The deal values Taubman at $3.21 billion, based on the number of shares outstanding as of late October. Taubman, based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., owns, manages or leases out 26 malls in the U.S. and in Asia, including Cherry Creek Shopping Center in Denver and Twelve Oaks Mall located outside of Detroit. Simon owned or controlled a stake in 204 properties in the U.S. as of Sept. 30 last year, such as Dadeland Mall in Florida, Copley Place in Boston and outlet shopping centers.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. may jump back into a U.S. mortgage program that helps low-income Americans buy homes, mulling a return years after most banks pulled back from the business in frustration over billions of dollars in penalties, Bloomberg News reported. The New York-based bank is deciding whether to offer more loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, a program that insures more than $1.2 trillion in U.S. mortgage debt. Promises by President Donald Trump’s administration to make it easier for lenders to avoid fines for mistakes in underwriting are prompting JPMorgan executives to take a fresh look at the risks of making a meaningful push into the market, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing internal talks. The deliberations are still active, and any decision to proceed will depend on a variety of factors. The return of JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, would almost certainly encourage competitors to revive their own FHA lending. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon has been a vocal critic of the government’s punishment of banks for errors in loans backed by the agency, telling investors in 2017 that JPMorgan had scaled back its FHA lending because “aggressive use” of the False Claims Act, which resulted in massive fines, had made the program too risky and cost prohibitive for banks.

A housing non-profit accused of mismanaging a large portfolio of Chicago apartment buildings is selling 13 South Side properties in bankruptcy court, but its debt woes are far from over, Crain's Chicago Business reported. An affiliate of the Better Housing Foundation that owns the South Side buildings filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late January after defaulting on about $13.6 million in bonds secured by the properties. The venture has signed an agreement to sell the buildings, which total 281 units, to Pangea Properties, a Chicago-based landlord that owns thousands of apartments in the city, said Better Housing Foundation President Andrew Belew. The sale would represent a key step in Belew’s efforts to clean up a big mess at the non-profit, which has racked up thousands of building-code violations and defaulted on another $156 million in debt as well. Its financial troubles could lead to more bankruptcy filings. The Better Housing Foundation, previously based in Ohio, moved aggressively into the Chicago area about four years ago, pitching government officials on its mission of providing affordable housing and important services, such as job placement, to low-income residents. The charity received tax breaks on its properties and financed its buyout binge with nearly $170 million in bonds issued through the Illinois Finance Authority. Today, the non-profit owns 75 buildings with about 1,000 apartments on the South Side and another 900 units in Chicago suburbs including Glen Ellyn, Blue Island and Mundelein.

The U.S. housing finance regulator has selected investment bank Houlihan Lokey Capital Inc as its financial adviser for a potential overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Reuters reported. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said yesterday that Houlihan Lokey will advise on how the mortgage finance giants could be rebuilt into fully private companies. The firm will be paid up to $45 million in fees over 5.5 years. Houlihan Lokey will advise on “business and capital structures, market impacts and timing, and available capital raising alternatives,” the FHFA said. The selection of a financial adviser was seen as a critical step in any effort to return Fannie and Freddie to the private market, after operating under a government conservatorship since being bailed out in 2008. The FHFA’s director, Mark Calabria, previously had said he wanted the FHFA to hire an adviser before Fannie and Freddie hired their own to avoid a conflict.

RentPath Inc., the operator of a number of rental websites, has hired restructuring advisers to work on a balance sheet overhaul, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The private-equity-backed company, which operates the real-estate websites ApartmentGuide.com, Rentals.com, and Rent.com., is looking to restructure more than $650 million of debt out of court. However, a potential bankruptcy filing is also on the table. RentPath’s business has been hurt by increased competition from rival websites. The company, which is owned by TPG Capital and Providence Equity Partners LLC, has hired investment bank Moelis & Co. as financial adviser and law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP as restructuring counsel, the people said. Meanwhile, a group of lenders has hired Houlihan Lokey Inc. as an adviser. RentPath’s debt has sagged recently as the restructuring looms. The company’s $490 million senior term loan is trading at around 49 cents on the dollar, while its $170 million junior loan is trading at just 6 cents, according to IHS Markit.