Dow Jones Newswire-Wall Street Journal | Shopping-mall owner
General Growth Properties Inc. has decided its preferred option for
exiting bankruptcy is a revised proposal led by Brookfield Asset
Management Inc. rather than a competing offer from rival mall giant
Simon Property Group Inc., a person familiar with the matter said. But
the situation is fluid and a few details remain to be ironed out Monday
before the deal can be finalized, a separate person familiar with the
talks said late Sunday.
The decision by General Growth’s board is the latest twist — but
perhaps not the final one — in months of competition between the
Brookfield group and Simon over which suitor would get the nod to
finance General Growth’s bankruptcy exit in exchange for much of the
company’s stock. General Growth, which owns 204 U.S. malls, sought
bankruptcy protection in April 2009 to restructure its $27 billion of
debt and intends to emerge later this year.
