TORONTO, May 6, 2015 /CNW/ - Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (TSX:CTC, TSX:CTC.A) has concluded an agreement to acquire 12 strategic real estate leases, formerly held by Target Canada, for  $17.7M. The transaction is subject to the approval of the court in connection with Target Canada's CCAA proceedings.

"We're always on the lookout for great opportunities. We've been tracking certain Target properties for some time and when the opportunity came up, we moved quickly and secured virtually all of them. We chose 12 properties that fit strategically and financially into our store network," said Michael Medline, President and CEO, Canadian Tire Corporation.  

This acquisition provides Canadian Tire with a unique opportunity to accelerate sales and market share growth. It also allows Canadian Tire to improve profitability by providing a cost-effective means to improve its retail store network through right-sizing and replacing some of its existing stores to better locations. The 12 new locations will add approximately 400,000 square feet of retail space to Canadian Tire Retail's store network.

"We view this real estate acquisition as a high–return investment and a positive transaction for our shareholders, our customers and our Dealers. Our customers are going to benefit from more convenient locations and larger stores that will allow us to showcase more products and deeper assortments of our best brands," concluded Medline.

The newly acquired store locations span the country: 

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains forward-looking information that reflects management's current expectations related to matters such as future financial performance and operating results of the Company. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purposes of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of our anticipated financial position, results of operations and operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

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For more information on the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause the Company's actual results to differ from current expectations, refer to section 2.10 (Risk Factors) of our Annual Information Form for fiscal 2014 and to sections 6.4.1.3 (Retail segment business risks), 6.4.2.3 (CT REIT segment business risks), 6.4.3.3 (Financial Services segment business risks) and 10.0 (Enterprise Risk Management) and all subsections thereunder of our 2014 Management's Discussion and Analysis, as well as the Company's other public filings, available at www.sedar.com and at www.corp.canadiantire.ca.

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SOURCE CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION, LIMITED