Judge rules against B.C. billionaire’s takeover of Hudson’s Bay stores in Canada

B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu’s bid to replace dozens of shuttered Hudson’s Bay stores across Canada with new department stores hit a legal snag last week.

Liu, who first earned her fortune in the Chinese real estate market, bought up leases for 28 Hudson’s Bay locations for more than $69 million after the retailer was unable to find a buyer for its failing stores.

Three of Liu’s 28 leases are in malls she owns, but a B.C. judge ruled on Friday that mall landlords won’t be forced to accept Liu as a client for her other 25 leases.

Judge Peter Osborne ruled there were “significant concerns” about Liu’s ability to meet the terms of the leases.

Major landlords including Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties and Ivanhoé Cambridge were opposed to Liu buying the leases.

Landlords had concerns over the deal, including an unachievable timeline and a $400 million budget for the project — money they doubted she had readily available because her malls were $19 million in debt over the last two years.

The Bay filed for creditor protection on March 7 and later announced all stores would close following liquidation sales.

The concept for Liu’s 28 stores is “a new modern department store concept in Canada,” according to the press release from The Bay in May.

– With files from The Canadian Press