Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management are the new owners of the Mills Corp., after surprising investors with their last-minute bid for the real estate investment trust earlier this month. The total $7.9 billion price tag for the deal includes $1.64 billion in cash, assumed debt and preferred stock.
Simon and Farallon will pay $25.25 per share for Mills, up from the $24 per share it offered for its initial bid. The cash tender offer is expected to close in 45 days. Mills had given Brookfield Asset Management, who it had previously entered into a merger agreement with, until today to counter Simon’s offer.
The investment community is pleased and unsurprised with the outcome of the deal. “Our take is and has been that malls belong with mall companies and are not a commodity asset that should be bid on by opportunity funds,” wrote Richard Moore, managing director at RBC Capital Market, in a research note.
For complete coverage see Monday’s issue of WWD.