Vegas shopping mall operator may be in multibillion dollar deal

Thursday, Dec. 13, 2001 | 10:50 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

General Growth Properties Inc., the second-largest shopping mall owner in the United States, sold 8 million shares of its stock today for $300 million -- one day after saying it's in talks to buy a "multibillion dollar" group of shopping centers.

Chicago-based General Growth sold the shares for $39.43 each through Lehman Brothers Inc., the company said. Senior managers bought 1.3 million shares in the sale, the company said.

General Growth said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday it was in talks to buy a group of shopping centers in a "multibillion" transaction. It didn't elaborate and company officials haven't returned phone calls for comment.

General Growth is a big operator in the fast-growing Las Vegas market with its Meadows and Boulevard malls.

Other big mall owners in the Las Vegas area are Forest City Enterprises Inc. of Cleveland with its Galleria Mall in Henderson, Rouse Co. of Columbia, Md., with its Fashion Show Mall on the Las Vegas Strip, TrizecHahn Corp. of Toronto with its Desert Passage mall at the Aladdin resort and Simon Property Group Inc. of Indianapolis with its Forum Shops at Caesars on the Strip. TrizecHahn has indicated it plans to eventually sell Desert Passage, but officials couldn't be reached for comment on whether General Growth may be in talks with any of its Las Vegas competitors.

Analysts said a likely target is Rodamco North America NV, which has said it's soliciting alternatives to an attempt by Australia's Westfield Holdings Ltd. to seize control of its management. Rodamco has a total market capitalization, stock and debt, of about $6 billion, according to Salomon Smith Barney.

"This offering gives them the financial resources to do a deal," said Jeffrey Olson, a real estate analyst at UBS Warburg. Still, "if they end up doing a deal with Rodamco, I would expect them to bring in a joint venture partner."

The sale comes a month after General Growth refinanced $2.5 billion of debt, gaining an extra $325 million of cash.

Some analysts expect a deal, with Rodamco or another mall owner may be imminent. For every week the cash sits on General Growth's balance sheet, earnings are reduced by 1 cent a share, according to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

General Growth's shares fell $1.06 to $38.37 in midmorning trading. Rodamco's shares rose 1.92 euros to 47.45 in Europe.

General Growth owns or manages 141 malls in 39 states with about 125 million square feet, making it second in size to Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group.

Rodamco owns or manages 35 malls, some of which are the most profitable in the United States, including Garden State Mall in Paramus, New Jersey; Copley Place in Boston; Water Tower Place in Chicago; Houston's Galleria and the Century City Shopping Center in Los Angeles.