8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

 PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

March 9, 2020

Date of Report (date of earliest event reported)

J. C. PENNEY COMPANY, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	1-15274		26-0037077
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(Commission File Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
6501 Legacy Drive	Plano	Texas	75024-3698
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)			(Zip Code)

(972) 431-1000

Registrant's telephone number, including area code

 Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock of 50 cents par value	JCP	New York Stock Exchange
Preferred Stock Purchase Rights	JCP	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

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Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (the “Company”) regularly engages in discussions with respect to potential strategic transactions to enhance the Company’s capital structure. During the course of recent discussions with a creditor, the Company provided such creditor with certain non-public information subject to a non-disclosure agreement. The Company has decided to discontinue discussions with such creditor as the parties were unable to reach final terms, although the Company intends to engage in future discussions with respect to its capital structure if terms are favorable to the Company.

Pursuant to the terms of its non-disclosure agreement, the Company is now disclosing such non-public information (the “Cleansing Material”) in Exhibit 99.1 attached hereto. The Cleansing Material was prepared by the Company solely to facilitate a discussion with a creditor and was not prepared with a view toward public disclosure and should not be relied upon to make an investment decision with respect to the Company. The Cleansing Material should not be regarded as an indication that the Company or any third party consider the Cleansing Material to be a reliable prediction of future events, and the Cleansing Material should not be relied upon as such. The Cleansing Material includes certain values for illustrative purposes only and such values are not the result of, and do not represent, actual valuations, estimates, forecasts or projections of the Company or any third party and should not be relied upon as such. Neither the Company nor any third party has made or makes any representation to any person regarding the accuracy of any Cleansing Material or undertakes any obligation to publicly update the Cleansing Material to reflect circumstances existing after the date when the Cleansing Material was prepared or conveyed or to reflect the occurrence of future events, even in the event that any or all of the assumptions underlying the Cleansing Material are shown to be in error.

The Company has included statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K that may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “expect” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based only on the Company’s current assumptions and views of future events and financial performance. They are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of the Company’s control that may cause the Company’s actual results to be materially different from planned or expected results. While the Company intends to continue to seek opportunities to improve its capital structure if opportunities are favorable or are otherwise available on acceptable terms, no assurance can be given that any such transaction will occur. Please refer to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended November 2, 2019 for a further discussion of risks and uncertainties. Investors should take such risks into account and should not rely on forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this Current Report on Form 8-K is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We do not undertake to update these forward-looking statements as of any future date.

The information disclosed in this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1, is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, regardless of any general incorporation language in such a filing.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)	Exhibit 99.1	Cleansing Material
	Exhibit 104	Cover Page Interactive Data File - the cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	J. C. PENNEY COMPANY, INC.
By:	/s/ Bill Wafford
	Bill Wafford
	Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Date: March 9, 2020

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

XML

Document and Entity Information Document	Mar. 09, 2020
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Mar. 09, 2020
Entity Registrant Name	J. C. PENNEY COMPANY, INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0001166126
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity File Number	1-15274
Entity Tax Identification Number	26-0037077
Entity Address, Address Line One	6501 Legacy Drive
Entity Address, City or Town	Plano
Entity Address, State or Province	TX
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	75024-3698
City Area Code	972
Local Phone Number	431-1000
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, INC. [Member] | Common Stock of 50 cents par value [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock of 50 cents par value
Trading Symbol	JCP
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, INC. [Member] | Preferred Stock Purchase Rights [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	Preferred Stock Purchase Rights
Trading Symbol	JCP
Security Exchange Name	NYSE