Taubman, headquartered in Bloomfields Hills, Michigan, was founded in 1950 and grew into one of the largest owners of high-end shopping centers in the United States.
Many retail workers are fed up and don’t want to go back to their pre-pandemic work environments. They are demanding better schedules, and sometimes even quitting their jobs altogether.
The Indianapolis-based shopping mall giant is getting a leg up on the emerging trend of online-only retailers moving into brick-and-mortar stores, a strategy analysts say could net the company a big payoff as it looks to develop new tenants.
Among the companies losing ground Tuesday was Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc., which fell 2.6% after the shopping mall operator completed its $3 billion purchase of an 80% stake in rival Taubman Centers.
Simon, the nation’s largest mall owner, had said in February that it would pay $3.6 billion for 80% of Michigan-based Taubman Centers Inc. But it announced in June it wanted out of the deal, a stance that landed the companies in court.
David Simon and Bobby Taubman are battling now in court over whether Simon Property Group is obligated to complete the $3.6 billion purchase of Michigan-based Taubman Centers that it announced in February.
Taubman Centers said in a filing alleging illegal termination that rival mall landlord Simon Property Group knowingly assumed the risks of the pandemic at the time their $3.6 billion merger deal was announced.
CEO David Simon said the company is continuing to work closely with its tenants but declined to discuss how it is assisting those that have faced financial strains from limited or diminished operations.
Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, the nation’s largest mall operator, reopened several dozen shopping centers across Texas, Georgia and roughly 10 other states from Friday to Monday.
David Simon said Simon Property Group’s ability to buy a company for $3.6 billion in cash without having to turn to a third party for financing and without suffering credit rating downgrades is a testament to the underappreciated strengths of the business.
Investors on Monday morning leapt aboard the plan from Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc. plan to buy rival shopping center owner Taubman Centers Inc. for $3.6 billion.
The deal sends a resounding message that Simon remains a devout believer in retail real estate, even as the rise of e-commerce has knocked the sector out of favor across the globe.
The index measures mobile-phone location data from five of the largest U.S. shopping center real estate investment trusts, including Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc.
Only about $3 billion of retail real estate changed hands in April, a 27 percent drop from a year earlier and the lowest monthly tally since February 2013.
