Mall Giant Simon Sells Stake In Retail Partner For $1.45B

Simon Property Group's Headquarters In Indianapolis As Of August 2019

Simon Property Group sold its stake in brand management company Authentic Brands Group for $1.45B.

The major mall owner shared details of the sale, which occurred in two transactions over the last two quarters, in its latest earnings call. It was reported to have a 10% stake in the company.

“We generated substantial value from the ABG investment and a seven-times multiple on our net invested capital during our short ownership period,” CEO David Simon told investors on the call.

Authentic Brands Group’s portfolio is varied, from apparel retailers such as Billabong to Sports Illustrated.

About a year ago, Simon said it might exit the retailer ownership business in five to 10 years, but Simon still has a fair, if shrinking, number of retailers in its portfolio.

ABG and Simon have a joint venture, SPARC, that owns a host of distressed retail brands, including Brooks Brothers and Forever21. SPARC was initially a 50-50 joint venture between Simon and ABG, but last October Simon said it reduced its stake in the JV to 33%, according to CoStar.

Simon also owns the department store JCPenney in a partnership with Brookfield Asset Management.

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

Data Center Owners Set Ambitious Climate Targets. Emissions Are Skyrocketing Instead

Flex Retail Is 'Hottest Asset' In Triangle Region, Developers Say

BREIT Exits Self-Storage As It Invests Billions Into Data Centers

10 States Alone Carry $1.4T In Wildfire Property Risk, Cotality Finds

Simon Property Group To More Than Double $18M In Lost Saks Global Rents With New Leases

Fermi Finally Secures Project Matador Tenant In A $6.5B Deal

Meta Launches $1B Community Fund As Opposition To AI Infrastructure Grows

Wall Street's Top Firms Reach $500B Deal With Nvidia For AI Build-Out

GO Residential, Blackstone, Others Get H&R REIT Assets In $4.8B Breakup Deal

Real Capital Solutions Launches Contrarian Office Fund With $50M From CEO

Big Hotel Chains Bask In Business Travel As Industry Emerges From Slump

Yardi-Backed Flex Office Marketplace Launches In U.S. As Companies Plan To Up Attendance