B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu loses court fight to take over Hudson’s Bay properties

Judge rules Ruby Liu can’t take over former Hudson’s Bay leases, citing doubts about her experience and business plan despite her $69M bid.

A B.C. billionaire who spent the summer fighting to move a department store she wants to create into former Hudson’s Bay properties has found herself on the losing end of an Ontario Superior Court decision.

Judge Peter Osborne ruled on Friday that landlords for the collapsed retailer will not be forced to accept Ruby Liu as a tenant.

In a 48-page judgment, Osborne said he had “significant concerns” about Liu’s ability to meet the terms of the leases she wanted and found arguments made by landlords fighting her bid to take over properties “compelling.”

HBC declined to comment on his decision, while a spokesperson for Liu did not immediately respond to messages from The Canadian Press. Both parties have the ability to appeal the decision, though neither has announced plans to.

Osborne’s decision was months in the making and came after he waded through 25,600 pages of arguments from HBC, a who’s who of commercial landlords and many investors.

It was back in March that Hudson’s Bay, riddled with $1.1 billion in debt, filed for creditor protection. Unable to find a buyer, it later liquidated its 80 stores and 16 more from Saks, and then turned its attention to assets such as its leases, intellectual property and art.

A lease-bidding process netted a dozen bids for 39 properties. YM Inc., which owns mall brands like Bluenotes, took five for $5.03 million. A landlord took one for $20,000.

But the biggest bid came from Liu, who dreamt of opening a new department store chain named after herself. She wanted up to 28 leases to accomplish the feat and in May, HBC announced it was willing to sell them to her.