Simon Property Group made what it called a $10 billion offer for General Growth Properties that would end one of the largest U.S. bankruptcies on record and combine the two largest U.S. shopping mall owners.You all remember GGP, right?
General Growth declared bankruptcy in April with 158 of its 200-plus malls after trying for months to refinance its debt. It listed total assets of $29.56 billion and total debt of $27.29 billion.
The Chicago-based company, the second-largest U.S. mall owner, owns such valuable properties as South Street Seaport in New York and Fashion Show in Las Vegas.
Indianapolis-based Simon owns or has an interest in 382 properties comprising 261 million square feet of leasable space in North America, Europe and Asia. These include such well-trafficked malls as Roosevelt Field on New York's Long Island and Sawgrass Mills Circle near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
This would put nearly 500 malls under Simon worldwide. How's that for healthy competition in the free market?
OT, but read this piece by Matt Osbourne about the current operation to clean out Helmand province in Afghanistan, I found it pretty riveting (especially in light of the recent Taliban leader capture)
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