In a deal valued at more than $15 billion, a Canadian real estate behemoth is planning to buy the remaining two-thirds of General Growth Properties—parent company of the Mall of Louisiana and 121 other malls across the U.S.—that it didn’t already own, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Brookfield Property Partners, the real estate unit of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, already owned 34% of GGP after boosting its stake last year. The deal for the rest of the company, announced Monday, was a revised version of a Brookfield offer that GGP’s board rejected in November.
The new offer, which was unanimously recommended by a committee of GGP’s board, still must be approved by GGP shareholders.
GGP is the nation’s second-largest mall owner behind Simon Property Group. The deal isn’t likely to lead to big changes in strategy at GGP’s properties, which tend to be higher-performing malls.
“They generally have very good properties, and should be better insulated against the decline of shopping centers than most,” says Neil Stern, senior partner at Chicago-based consulting firm McMillanDoolittle.
