The life of shopping malls has transformed in recent years with big-box tenants going bankrupt and malls looking for new uses for their large real estate space, including new tenants, apartments and entertainment experiences like those from Netflix.

Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) is now the owner of a shopping mall and the move will likely be closely followed by the real estate sector.

What Happened: For what is believed to be the first time in company history, Walmart is the owner of a shopping mall. The world's largest retailer paid $34 million to acquire the Monroeville Mall, located near Pittsburgh.

Walmart purchased the mall from CBL & Associates (NYSE:CBL) recently and partnered with Cypress Equities to redevelop the property. Cypress has been used by Walmart previously to help with site selection on new retail locations.

"Walmart did purchase the Monroeville Mall and is very interested in being part ...

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