Brookfield Has Already Sold $4B In GGP Property Equity As It Prepares To Overhaul The Malls It Now Owns

The Fashion Show Mall In Las Vegas

With its acquisition of GGP finally complete, Brookfield Property Partners is about to begin the more difficult task of turning its properties around.

Brookfield officially took full ownership of GGP in July in a deal valuing the mall-owning REIT at $15B (before then, Brookfield owned a 34% stake in the company). It has since begun the process of bringing in equity partners in many of the malls it acquired, with different goals depending on how well each center is performing, the Wall Street Journal reports.

For the better-performing malls, Brookfield will be adding stores and updated concepts. For the struggling properties, it will be either shrinking footprints or introducing mixed-use elements like apartments or hotels, the WSJ reports. The plan is similar to what Brookfield executed after acquiring Rouse Properties in 2016.

A key difference is the creation of a new REIT to manage the 125-unit portfolio that GGP brought with it. Brookfield Property REIT will be listed on Nasdaq and managed by Brookfield Asset Management, Brookfield Property Partners' parent company. The REIT will attempt to bring in partners and additional equity to redevelop its struggling malls before considering any sales, Brookfield Property Partners CEO Brian Kingston told the WSJ.

Brookfield has already sold about $4B in equity across the GGP portfolio to bring in joint venture partners, but its strategy isn't popular with many of the GGP shareholders who have been presented with the choice to receive $23.50, one share of Brookfield Property Partners or one share of Brookfield Property REIT in exchange for each GGP share acquired by Brookfield.

Those shareholders, frustrated with the potential devaluing effect Brookfield's acquisition price could have on mall properties as a whole, have privately been exploring selling out of Brookfield to invest in other retail owners such as Simon Property Group, the WSJ reports.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's National Newsletters
Related Stories

Inside The Nationwide Jockeying For Opportunity Zones 2.0

Furniture Outlet The Dump Is Getting Dumped In Atlanta

Simon Approaching End Of The Road With Struggling Suburban Boston Mall

GTIS Partners Rebrands As Brightshore Capital, Launches $250M Debt Platform

Data Center Spills 5,000 Gallons Of Fuel Into New Jersey River

Hines And Rialto Close Office Credit Fund At $1.1B

Chipotle Adding Hundreds Of New Locations Worldwide

'Beyond A Routine Wobble': 10-Year Treasury Clears 5% Ahead Of Key Fed Meeting

Stockdale Capital Partners, Hamilton Lane Acquire Chino Hills Shopping Center For $157M

Bucks County Mall Closing As Owners Prepare Redevelopment Plans

Trump's DEI Crackdown Is Creating New Risks For Landlords That Lease To The Government

Airbnb Launches $250M Fund To Invest In Affordable Housing