A JC Penney store (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
PLANO, Texas - JC Penney officially exited bankruptcy protection.
A federal bankruptcy judge in Texas gave final approval of the sale last week.
Now the Plano-based company is mostly owned by shopping mall operator Simon Property Group and Brookfield Capital Partners.
"Today is an exciting day for our company, as we have accomplished our goal of putting JC Penney on a secure path for the future as a private company so that we can continue to serve our loyal customers," said Jill Soltau, the chief executive officer of JC Penney.
"We have always been firm believers in JC Penney, and are very pleased to help preserve this iconic institution and save tens of thousands of jobs," said David Simon, the head of Simon Property Group.
Simon and Brookfield will serve as landlords to JC Penney’s 160 stores.