JCPenney Credit Rating & NNN Status

Metric	Details
Entity Status	Operating assets sold out of Chapter 11 on December 7, 2020; plan effective January 30, 2021
Chapter 11 Filed	May 15, 2020
Acquirers	Operating assets: Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management joint venture; 160 stores and 6 distribution centers: entity controlled by first lien lenders
Operating Entity	Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC and subsidiaries (private; no S&P, Moody’s or Fitch rating in our ratings database); part of Catalyst Brands since December 19, 2024
Credit Ratings	no verified rating
Investment Grade Status	Not Yet Verified
Sector	Department Store / General Merchandise
Stores	646 department stores in 49 states and Puerto Rico (Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC audited financial statements for the year ended January 31, 2026); 846 at February 1, 2020 (Form 10-K)
Median asking cap rate	Too few current listings to report
Average Store Size	About 110,000 SF (93.5 million SF across 846 stores, February 1, 2020, Form 10-K); confirm for each store

JCPenney: no confirmed agency rating. No rating for JCPenney has been verified against a primary source (an agency rating action or an issuer filing), so none is shown. If a rating is verified, it will appear here. Ratings checked October 8, 2026. See the investment grade credit tenant ratings table.

What Happened to JCPenney?

JCPenney, a department store chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, 2020. Founded by James Cash Penney in 1902, the company had operated for 118 years; it filed after temporarily closing all of its stores during the COVID-19 pandemic.

JCPenney did not liquidate entirely. On December 7, 2020, a joint venture of Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management acquired substantially all of JCPenney’s retail and operating assets in a bankruptcy court approved sale, for a cash payment of approximately $1 billion plus a portion of the lenders’ credit bid. The business is now privately owned, and our ratings database has no S&P, Moody’s or Fitch rating for its operating company, Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC. On January 30, 2021, 160 owned and ground-leased stores and all six owned distribution centers were sold to an entity controlled by JCPenney’s first lien lenders and leased back to the operating company under triple-net master leases; the Copper Property CTL Pass Through Trust owned 117 of those stores at December 31, 2025.

JCPenney / Penney Intermediate Holdings Credit Profile

Post-Bankruptcy Private Entity: The JCPenney operating business, acquired in December 2020 by Copper Retail JV LLC, a joint venture of Simon Property Group and Brookfield, is owned and operated by Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC and its subsidiaries. On December 19, 2024, SPARC Group was contributed to the joint venture, and the combined businesses operate under the name Catalyst Brands. Our ratings database has no S&P, Moody’s or Fitch rating for the operating company. The joint venture is owned by Simon Property Group, L.P., Brookfield Asset Management Inc., Authentic Brands Group, LLC and SPARC Group Holdings II LLC. For the stores owned by the Copper Property CTL Pass Through Trust, the tenants are subsidiaries of Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC, which guarantees the master leases. The operating company is private; the trust filed Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC’s audited financial statements for the year ended January 31, 2026 with an amendment to its annual report on May 27, 2026. NNN investors evaluating JCPenney properties should assess the specific location, lease structure, and the institutional ownership context carefully.

JCPenney NNN Real Estate: The Ownership Complexity

JCPenney’s post-bankruptcy real estate structure is significantly more complex than a standard NNN investment. Of JCPenney’s 846 stores at February 1, 2020, 387 were owned (including 110 on ground leases) and 459 were leased (Form 10-K). Whether a store is a mall anchor, a shopping center unit or a freestanding building varies, so confirm the site type and any reciprocal easement agreement for each property.

For investors encountering JCPenney in a NNN context, the key due diligence questions are: (1) Which entity is the tenant, is there a guarantor, and is this a freestanding net lease or an anchor lease within a mall? (2) What are the remaining lease term and renewal options? (3) Is the specific location in the post-bankruptcy retained store set, or was it closed and the lease rejected? (4) What are the re-tenanting prospects if JCPenney ultimately exits?

Former JCPenney Properties: Re-Tenanting Reality

JCPenney’s store count fell from 846 at February 1, 2020 (Form 10-K) to 646 reported in Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC’s audited financial statements for the year ended January 31, 2026, and the closed stores created re-tenanting opportunities and challenges across the country. Large department store boxes can be difficult to re-tenant. Possible re-uses include fitness operators, outpatient healthcare, grocery, discount retailers, entertainment concepts and government or education uses.

JCPenney NNN Investment: Key Considerations

Factor	Assessment
Credit quality	Private post-bankruptcy entity: no rating in our ratings database; institutional owners
Store format	Large boxes (about 110,000 SF average in 2020): complex re-tenanting if needed
Mall vs. freestanding	Varies by store: confirm the site type for each property
Institutional ownership	Joint venture owners: Simon, Brookfield, Authentic Brands Group and SPARC Group Holdings II LLC; confirm any guaranty in each lease (trust master leases are guaranteed by Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC)
Competitive outlook	Retail competition is intense in most markets where the trust’s stores are located (trust Form 10-K)

Did JCPenney go out of business?

JCPenney filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2020 but did not liquidate entirely. A Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management joint venture acquired the operating business on December 7, 2020. Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC’s audited financial statements for the year ended January 31, 2026 report 646 JCPenney department stores, and the business now operates within Catalyst Brands. Our ratings database has no S&P, Moody’s or Fitch rating for the operating company.

Who owns JCPenney now?

On December 19, 2024, SPARC Group was contributed to Copper Retail JV LLC, the joint venture that owns the JCPenney business, and the combined businesses operate under the name Catalyst Brands. The joint venture is owned by Simon Property Group, Brookfield, Authentic Brands Group and SPARC Group Holdings II LLC. JCPenney continues as a brand within Catalyst Brands; confirm the tenant entity named in each lease (the trust’s master leases name subsidiaries of Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC as tenants).

Are JCPenney stores still open?

Yes. Penney Intermediate Holdings LLC’s audited financial statements for the year ended January 31, 2026 report 646 JCPenney department stores in 49 states and Puerto Rico, down from 846 at February 1, 2020 (Form 10-K). The stores continue to operate under the JCPenney brand within Catalyst Brands.

JCPenney NNN Cap Rates

Live asking cap rates for JCPenney appear below when at least three current listings are available:

JCPenney Net Lease Property: Buying, Selling and Financing

Buying: We find on-market and off-market JCPenney properties, review the lease and the tenant’s credit, and compare pricing with current listings. On the majority of transactions, there is no separate fee to you as the buyer; the listing broker pays a cooperating commission.

Selling: We can prepare an opinion of value from current listings and recent sales and, when it fits your goals, run a confidential sale to private investors, family offices and institutional buyers. See our guide to off-market sales.

Financing: Investment Grade Capital, a service of Investment Grade LLC, matches buyers and owners with lenders for acquisitions and refinancing.

1031 exchanges: Tell us your identification and closing deadlines so we can plan the search around them.

Request an NNN investment consultation or email team@investmentgrade.com.