TUESDAY September 10, 2019
Public legal notices begin on page 3
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
THE MATHIS REPORT
FTC votes to block Fidelity merger with Stewart
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Two developers working on plans for old Kmart site
Commission says merger would “substantially reduce competition.”
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
BY MARK BASCH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
property as one shopping area. Hinton is manager of 188 Sundry Trail LLC, which bought the Kmart property Aug. 28 for $1.875 million from Bessemer Improvement Co. of Greensboro, North Carolina. The 108,341-square-foot former discount store was built in 1969 and has been vacant since the Kmart closed in 2012. The adjacent building is 36,563 square feet, property records show. The Duval County Property Appraiser assesses the value at almost $1.58 million. “We plan on a total facelift for the Kmart and various stores in the center,” Hinton said. It will total about 138,000 square feet. He said his group is looking for a tenant, such as conditioned storage or another large user, for 60,000 square feet of the Kmart building. Hinton operates John’s Appliance & Bedding and intends to open a 40,000-square-foot appliance, cabinet and bedding superstore in that building.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission voted Friday to oppose Fidelity National Financial Inc.’s proposed $1.2 billion acquisition of Stewart Information Services Corp., saying the merger would “substantially reduce competition” in the title insurance market. Jacksonville-based Fidelity already is the dominant company in the industry with about 32% of U.S. title insurance sales. The addition of Houston-based Stewart would increase its market share to 43%, the FTC said in a news release. The FTC, by a 3-1 vote with one abstention, decided to issue an administrative complaint against the deal and seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in federal court to stop it. Fidelity and Stewart agreed to the merger in March 2018. The deal needs approval from the FTC and numerous state insurance regulators. As the approval process dragged on, Fidelity officials have said numerous times they were working with the FTC to address antitrust concerns. While the merger received approvals from most states, it was rejected in January by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Fidelity also has been working with the New York officials to resolve their concerns. Fidelity issued a brief news release late Friday afternoon to announce the FTC’s decision but gave no other information. Stewart also issued a news
SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
SEE MERGER, PAGE 2
JACKSONVILLE
Special to the Daily Record
The former Kmart shopping center at Beach and University boulevards is being redeveloped. John Hinton owns the former Kmart building and a group led by Jeff Conn owns the property in front of it.
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
Shopping center with McDonald’s going in the front while plans for Kmart include a John’s Appliance & Bedding store and more. Northwest Beach and University boulevards is slated for more redevelopment as a South Daytona investor envisions turning the closed Kmart into self-storage, a warehouse showroom, a food store and retail space for lease. Buyer John Hinton intends to open one of his John’s Appliance & Bedding superstores there, too. Hinton bought the 7.2-acre former
Hinton
Conn
Kmart building and site at 5751 Beach Blvd., where the store parking lot is under redevelopment as Boulevard Crossing by Jacksonville-based Hallmark Partners. Jeff Conn is co-founder and a principal of Hallmark Partners. “Between Jeff Conn with his Boulevard Shopping Center, we hope to really clean up that major corner and create an enclave of shopping, dining and refreshment facilities,” Hinton said by email. Hinton said his group bought additional property from Conn to use for parking, giving it a site of 8.5 acres. He has not branded his center. Hinton said he considers his site with the neighboring Boulevard Crossing
Joe’s Crab Shack sold for $6 million Jacksonville-based Ash Properties, through Beach South One LLC, paid $6 million for the oceanfront Joe’s Crab Shack property in Jacksonville Beach. Elaine Ashourian, a principal of Ash Properties, said Monday the group bought the operating restaurant as an investment. “They have a land lease on it,” she said. Ash Properties will determine “down the line what we’ll do.” The 1.6 acres comprises the restaurant at 15 S. First St. and the parking lot at 110 Beach Blvd. The 8,032-square-foot restaurant, built in 1999, is on 0.75 acres and the adjacent parking lot is 0.85 acres.
VOLUME 106, NO. 208 • ONE SECTION