Mall Owner Warns of Bankruptcy?

Filed in National by on November 11, 2008

Via Calculated Risk, the WSJ reports that General Growth Properties is warning of serious financial difficulty:

Ailing mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. warned Monday in a government filing that its failure to refinance or extend $1 billion in debt due this month could trigger default on billions of dollars in debt and its ability to continue operations would be in “substantial doubt.”

One of the nation’s largest shopping mall owners, General Growth made the warning in a quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, based in Chicago, faces an additional $3.07 billion in debt coming due next year.

(Bloomberg has an unrestricted article that also talks about the battering of GGP stock today.)

Why be interested in this? They are the owners of Christiana Mall, a key retail venue here. Nationwide , they are the owners of some of the premiere shopping areas in the nation, which can’t be good news as all of these retailers are going into their most crucial part of the year.

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Comments (7)

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  1. Mark H says:

    It’s the revenge of the teenagers 🙂

  2. jason330 says:

    The retail rents are astronomical, so Christiana Mall has to be a pretty viable asset.

    I guess they’d sell it to a better of REIT if General Growth Properties goes unde.

  3. Unstable Isotope says:

    I guess this means the mall expansion is off?

  4. anon says:

    Mall owners looking for a bailout now…when is enough nuff.

  5. cassandra_m says:

    This company owns many of the premiere shopping centers in the US including two of my favorites — Towsontown Center and Tysons.

    But I really want that Nordstrom at Christiana!

    And @ Mark H — LOL!

  6. I got dibbs on the Cinabun Kiosk !!!!

  7. arthur says:

    REITs right now are paying fantastic dividends. Some in the 6-7% range.