Hudson’s Bay has entered into a definitive agreement to sell up to 28 leases in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia to Ruby Liu Commercial Investment Corp., a company operating shopping centers in Canada and Asia and controlled by billionaire Ruby Liu.

According to information from the Toronto-based Hudson’s Bay, Liu intends to launch “a new modern department store concept” in Canada. She would, however, be unable to operate the stores under the Hudson’s Bay banner considering earlier this month the intellectual property of Hudson’s Bay was purchased by Canadian Tire Corp., one of Canada’s largest retailers, unless some agreement was worked out. Canadian Tire spent 30 million Canadian dollars to own the time-honored HBC stripes and various company names, logos, designs, coat of arms and brand trademarks.

Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection under the CCAA in March, citing over $1.1 billion in debt. Despite efforts to restructure, the company initiated full liquidation after failing to secure necessary financing.

Liu is the chairwoman of Central Walk, which develops and operates commercial real estate in Asia and Canada, including the Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria, and Tsawwassen Mills Outlet Shopping Mall and Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Three of the leases sought by Liu are in those three shopping centers in Canada. The locations of the other leases as of yet have not been disclosed. Terms of the agreement were also not disclosed.

Liu has a reputation for bringing a variety of events and experiences to her company’s mall properties, which offer more than just dining and shopping. She entered Canada’s commercial real estate market five years ago by purchasing the Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo. It is believed that the mall is up for sale.

In 2021, Liu purchased the Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria. A year later she bought Tsawwassen Mills mall in Vancouver.

Liu’s pending acquisition of the leases is the result of a bidding process where the court determined that the transaction would be in the best interests of Hudson’s Bay and its stakeholders and creditors. The company remains in discussions with other bidders regarding certain other lease locations.

The deal with Liu requires the approval of the court and the landlords. Currently, Hudson’s Bay is liquidating all of its 80 stores, a process expected to be completed next month. The liquidations will cost approximately 8,000 workers in Canada their jobs.

Among Hudson’s Bay’s key locations are those in downtown Toronto on Queen Street; the Yorkdale Shopping Center in Toronto; the Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ontario; in downtown Montreal; in Laval and in Pointe-Claire, both cities in Quebec.

Hudson’s Bay was part of the same retail group that was led by Richard Baker and owned Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th. But when Saks purchased the Neiman Marcus Group in December in a $2.7 billion deal, Hudson’s Bay was separated from the operation. Baker’s NRDC Equity Partners bought Hudson’s Bay in 2008 for around $1 billion from the widow of South Carolina industrialist Jerry Zucker, who bought Hudson’s Bay two years before for $1.1 billion.