Simon Property Group

Mall owner Simon Property Group said Thursday it would increase its ownership in Arundel Mills Mall and Arundel Mills Marketplace in Hanover as part of a $1.6 billion deal to acquire its joint venture partner's stake in 26 Mills malls and shopping centers nationwide. Simon has signed an agreement with Farallon Capital Management LLC to acquire Farallon's stake in properties owned by The Mills Limited Partnership. The purchase price includes the repayment of some of the Mills' debt.

Mall owner Simon Property Group said Thursday it would increase its ownership in Arundel Mills Mall and Arundel Mills Marketplace in Hanover as part of a $1.6 billion deal to acquire its joint venture partner's stake in 26 Mills malls and shopping centers nationwide. Simon has signed an agreement with Farallon Capital Management LLC to acquire Farallon's stake in properties owned by The Mills Limited Partnership. The purchase price includes the repayment of some of the Mills' debt.

General Growth Properties Inc. on Thursday again rebuffed Simon Property's recent overtures, suggesting that the bankrupt real estate company may be holding out for a better deal. "Our objective is to maximize value for the company and its stakeholders, and we are engaging in a process that is intended to accomplish that result," General Growth CEO Adam Mentz wrote in a letter to David Simon, chairman and CEO of Simon Property Group Inc. "Understandably, your objectives are not aligned with ours.

The corporate owner of most Baltimore-area malls plans to emerge from bankruptcy this year under a restructuring plan that analysts say would put it in a stronger position to attract new tenants and reinvest in faltering properties. General Growth Properties, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year with $27 billion in debt, unveiled its reorganization plan during the past week. The new plan, if approved by a judge, would place the company on a better financial footing by wiping out mounds of debt.

At a glance General Growth Properties •Owns or manages more than 200 regional malls in 43 states •Owns planned community developments and commercial office buildings •Portfolio totals about 200 million square feet of retail space with more than 24,000 stores nationwide. •Headquartered in Chicago •Tuesday closing stock price $12.02 per share, up nearly 28 percent, on over-the-counter Pink OTC Markets Inc. Simon Property Group •Largest public real estate company in the U.S. •Owns or has an interest in 382 properties including regional malls, outlet centers, The Mills centers, community/lifestyle centers and international properties •Owns or has interest in 261 million square feet of space.

Prime Retail Management, an arm of the Baltimore-based owner of outlet shopping centers, will lay off 44 workers at its downtown Baltimore office by Sept. 5, the company said in a notice filed with Maryland's labor department. The notice to the state's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation did not indicate whether or not the East Redwood Street office would be closed. Prime Outlets Acquisition Co., which owns 22 outlet malls around the country including Prime Outlets Hagerstown and Prime Outlets Queenstown, is to be acquired in a $2.33 billion deal by Simon Property Group, the nation's largest owner of malls.

The nation's largest owner of malls announced Tuesday it is acquiring Prime Outlets Acquisition Co., the Baltimore-based owner of outlet shopping centers, from Lightstone Group in a $2.33 billion deal. Under the agreement, Simon Property Group would become the owner of 22 outlet malls owned by Prime around the country, including Prime Outlets Hagerstown and Prime Outlets Queenstown in the Baltimore area. Simon will assume Prime Outlets' debt and preferred stock. Retail analysts said that Prime is a good match for Simon, which has been expanding its outlet business in recent years.

Simon Property Group, the nation's largest shopping mall owner, announced Tuesday a hostile $10 billion bid for General Growth Properties, including Baltimore's Harborplace pavilions and prime suburban malls across Maryland, raising hopes that a new owner could help rejuvenate those properties. Indianapolis-based Simon Property, which owns Arundel Mills mall, submitted its offer last week and announced details after officials said they received no "substantive response" from General Growth, the Chicago-based real estate company that filed for bankruptcy last April.

General Growth Properties Inc., the bankrupt owner of most of the region's malls, said Thursday that it has come to an agreement with its creditors to restructure $8.9 billion in debt on 70 loans in a move that could enable those properties to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of the year. The agreement would extend the maturation dates of the loans, with no loan scheduled to mature before 2014. The company filed for bankruptcy in April after amassing $27 billion in debt buying malls and shopping centers.

Simon Property Group, the nation's largest shopping mall owner, stepped up pressure on rival General Growth Properties to accept its $10 billion bid for the real estate company that owns a number of malls across Maryland. Indianapolis-based Simon made the unsolicited bid for General Growth this month and disclosed it publicly this week, sparking speculation that a bidding war would ensue. The sale would allow Chicago-based General Growth, which filed for bankruptcy in April, to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Prime Retail Management, an arm of the Baltimore-based owner of outlet shopping centers, will lay off 44 workers at its downtown Baltimore office by Sept. 5, the company said in a notice filed with Maryland's labor department. The notice to the state's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation did not indicate whether or not the East Redwood Street office would be closed. Prime Outlets Acquisition Co., which owns 22 outlet malls around the country including Prime Outlets Hagerstown and Prime Outlets Queenstown, is to be acquired in a $2.33 billion deal by Simon Property Group, the nation's largest owner of malls.

The company that owns most of the regional malls in Central Maryland announced Tuesday that it intends to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this fall as two separate entities, with some key properties in the state going to each one. Chicago-based General Growth Properties said in a bankruptcy reorganization filing that one of the new companies, also called General Growth Properties, would contain most of the regional malls. A second, tentatively given the placeholder name of Spinco, would contain master-planned communities such as Columbia, Md., and Summerlin, Nev., and specialty marketplaces such as South Street Seaport in New York.

General Growth Properties, owner of most shopping malls in the Baltimore area and a number of prime properties in Columbia, announced Wednesday that it plans to split into two companies and has negotiated a $2.6 billion investment from a Canada-based company as part of a plan to exit bankruptcy. Chicago-based General Growth said that Brookfield Asset Management of Toronto, one of the world's largest real estate investors, has offered to invest in a proposed recapitalization at a value of $15 per share.

General Growth Properties Inc. on Thursday again rebuffed Simon Property's recent overtures, suggesting that the bankrupt real estate company may be holding out for a better deal. "Our objective is to maximize value for the company and its stakeholders, and we are engaging in a process that is intended to accomplish that result," General Growth CEO Adam Mentz wrote in a letter to David Simon, chairman and CEO of Simon Property Group Inc. "Understandably, your objectives are not aligned with ours.

Simon Property Group, the nation's largest shopping mall owner, stepped up pressure on rival General Growth Properties to accept its $10 billion bid for the real estate company that owns a number of malls across Maryland. Indianapolis-based Simon made the unsolicited bid for General Growth this month and disclosed it publicly this week, sparking speculation that a bidding war would ensue. The sale would allow Chicago-based General Growth, which filed for bankruptcy in April, to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

At a glance General Growth Properties •Owns or manages more than 200 regional malls in 43 states •Owns planned community developments and commercial office buildings •Portfolio totals about 200 million square feet of retail space with more than 24,000 stores nationwide. •Headquartered in Chicago •Tuesday closing stock price $12.02 per share, up nearly 28 percent, on over-the-counter Pink OTC Markets Inc. Simon Property Group •Largest public real estate company in the U.S. •Owns or has an interest in 382 properties including regional malls, outlet centers, The Mills centers, community/lifestyle centers and international properties •Owns or has interest in 261 million square feet of space.

Retail mall giants Simon Property Group Inc. and the DeBartolo Realty Corp. yesterday announced a corporate marriage that will create North America's largest real estate concern, with a market capitalization of $7.5 billion.Together, Simon and DeBartolo will own 183 retail projects containing 110 million square feet, more than twice the amount of retail space in the Baltimore metropolitan area, according to statistics compiled by real estate firm KLNB Inc.The $1.5 billion stock merger also will make the Simon DeBartolo Group, as the new entity will be known, the nation's largest real estate investment trust (REIT)

Simon Property Group, the nation's largest shopping mall owner, announced Tuesday a hostile $10 billion bid for General Growth Properties, including Baltimore's Harborplace pavilions and prime suburban malls across Maryland, raising hopes that a new owner could help rejuvenate those properties. Indianapolis-based Simon Property, which owns Arundel Mills mall, submitted its offer last week and announced details after officials said they received no "substantive response" from General Growth, the Chicago-based real estate company that filed for bankruptcy last April.

The nation's largest owner of malls announced Tuesday it is acquiring Prime Outlets Acquisition Co., the Baltimore-based owner of outlet shopping centers, from Lightstone Group in a $2.33 billion deal. Under the agreement, Simon Property Group would become the owner of 22 outlet malls owned by Prime around the country, including Prime Outlets Hagerstown and Prime Outlets Queenstown in the Baltimore area. Simon will assume Prime Outlets' debt and preferred stock. Retail analysts said that Prime is a good match for Simon, which has been expanding its outlet business in recent years.