2020 YEAR IN REVIEW: Pandemic whipsaws shopping mall giant
The Indianapolis-based company closed the year by negotiating a lower price for its purchase of Michigan-based mall rival Taubman Centers Inc.
The Indianapolis-based company closed the year by negotiating a lower price for its purchase of Michigan-based mall rival Taubman Centers Inc.
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.
The talks come as a wave of retail bankruptcies squeeze mall-oriented real estate investment trusts, putting pressure on the industry to consolidate.
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.
Brookfield Property’s deal to take over shopping center landlord GGP Inc. isn’t winning over Wall Street analysts, nor is it scoring points with investors in retail real estate stocks, including Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group.
Most U.S. malls are still dependent on department stores to draw customers, but with consumers doing more shopping online, retail centers are increasingly relying on restaurants, entertainment amenities and even medical facilities to attract traffic.
By buying Macerich, the largest U.S. mall owner would expand its holdings on the West Coast and add top-tier properties that rarely come up for sale. The offer will be withdrawn if Simon is unable to meet with Macerich to negotiate terms of an agreement by April 1.
Analysts predict Simon Property Group Inc. will pay off debt and wait patiently for its next opportunity after withdrawing
separate offers to either acquire General Growth Properties or finance its exit from bankruptcy. A New York judge had endorsed
a rival plan that allows General Growth to stay independent.