Mills Corp

Mills Corp. sued sometime-partner Simon DeBartolo Group Inc., claiming it violated an agreement by planning a factory outlet mall outside Houston, just two miles from a similar Mills' project, without first offering Mills a 50% stake. Simon DeBartolo representatives branded the suit frivolous, adding that its project will feature high-end outlet stores rather than the value-oriented retailers in Mills' projects.

Struggling U.S. mall owner Mills Corp. has agreed to a sweetened buyout offer of $1.64 billion from Simon Property Group Inc. and Farallon Capital Management, giving Simon control of a slate of shopping centers in densely populated areas, the companies said Friday. The Simon-Farallon group raised its offer to $25.25 a share from $24 after original Mills suitor Brookfield Asset Management Inc. raised its initial bid of $1.

Mall developer Mills Corp. will acquire a 50% interest in nine malls from General Motors Asset Management Corp., a unit of General Motors Corp., for about $1.03 billion before transaction costs. Arlington, Va.-based Mills, a real estate investment trust, said the properties included Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, Calif., and Hilltop Mall in Richmond, Calif.

Mall developer Mills Corp. said Tuesday that it now favored a $1.6-billion offer from Simon Property Group Inc. and hedge fund Farallon Capital Management -- a deal that tops an earlier takeover agreement that Mills made with Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Chevy Chase, Md.-based Mills said its board of directors decided that the Simon-Farallon deal, at $24 a share, was superior to Brookfield's proposed $21-a-share deal, valued at $1.35 billion.

Mall developer Mills Corp. announced Thursday that it had hired financial advisors to explore a possible sale of the company and is cutting jobs as part of a corporate restructuring. The restructuring will result in the loss of 77 jobs. The company -- which owns 42 properties in the U.S., Canada and Europe, including the Block at Orange and Del Amo Fashion Center -- employs about 1,100. The Arlington, Va.

Mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. and Farallon Capital Management, the largest shareholder of beleaguered Mills Corp., offered Monday to buy Mills for $1.56 billion, topping a $1.35-billion offer from Brookfield Asset Management Inc. The new bid for Chevy Chase, Md.-based Mills is valued at $24 a share. Last month, Canada-based Brookfield agreed to buy Mills for $21 a share. Indianapolis-based Simon, the largest U.S.

Mall developer Mills Corp. said Tuesday that it now favored a $1.6-billion offer from Simon Property Group Inc. and hedge fund Farallon Capital Management -- a deal that tops an earlier takeover agreement that Mills made with Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Chevy Chase, Md.-based Mills said its board of directors decided that the Simon-Farallon deal, at $24 a share, was superior to Brookfield's proposed $21-a-share deal, valued at $1.35 billion.

Mills Corp., an owner of 38 U.S. shopping malls, including the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, said Tuesday that it might be forced into bankruptcy after executive misconduct and accounting errors resulted in almost four years of earnings restatements. Its shares fell 22%, the most since August. Chevy Chase, Md.-based Mills, which is seeking a buyer, will restate results for 2001 to 2004 and for the first three quarters of 2005 and expects the errors to cost as much as $354 million.

You've heard of the Sears Tower, the Chrysler Building and even Bank One Ballpark. Now, coming soon to an Atlanta suburb, Discover Mills mall. Mall operator Mills Corp. and credit card company Discover Financial Services joined forces Wednesday for what they called the first naming-rights partnership in the shopping center industry. Discover Mills is to be opened next year 25 miles north of downtown Atlanta.

Mall developer Mills Corp., under investigation for accounting problems, said Monday that its longtime chief executive retired over the weekend, becoming the second high-ranking executive to leave in recent months. Laurence Siegel retired under a deal reached with Mills on Saturday but will remain nonexecutive chairman of the company's board of directors. Former Mills Chief Financial Officer Mark Ordan was appointed CEO of the Chevy Chase, Md.-based company, which has been seeking a buyer.

Mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. and Farallon Capital Management, the largest shareholder of beleaguered Mills Corp., offered Monday to buy Mills for $1.56 billion, topping a $1.35-billion offer from Brookfield Asset Management Inc. The new bid for Chevy Chase, Md.-based Mills is valued at $24 a share. Last month, Canada-based Brookfield agreed to buy Mills for $21 a share. Indianapolis-based Simon, the largest U.S.

Robust offers for two prominent commercial real estate companies demonstrate that demand by large investors for prime office and retail properties has yet to peak, industry observers said Wednesday. Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management Inc. agreed Wednesday to pay $1.35 billion for Mills Corp., the troubled owner of 38 shopping centers, including two of Southern California's largest malls. The price is considered top dollar by mall industry experts.

Mills Corp., an owner of 38 U.S. shopping malls, including the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, said Tuesday that it might be forced into bankruptcy after executive misconduct and accounting errors resulted in almost four years of earnings restatements. Its shares fell 22%, the most since August. Chevy Chase, Md.-based Mills, which is seeking a buyer, will restate results for 2001 to 2004 and for the first three quarters of 2005 and expects the errors to cost as much as $354 million.

Mills Corp. shareholders elected four new directors at an annual meeting marked by investors' anger, and the company said it would file earnings restatements for 2005 by the end of January and its 2006 report by March 1. Two new directors were chosen by Tel Aviv-based Gazit-Globe Ltd., Mills' second-largest shareholder. Gazit gains influence at Mills as the Chevy Chase, Md.-based mall developer, which has lost half its market value this year, seeks a buyer.

Gazit-Globe Ltd., an Israeli-based real estate investment company, said it had offered to invest as much as $1.2 billion in Mills Corp. to give the U.S. shopping mall owner and developer an alternative to an outright sale. The news of the offer sent Mills' stock up $2.34, or 13.8%, to $19.35. Shares reached $20.50, their highest level since August, in early trading. Mills, based in Chevy Chase, Md.

Mall developer Mills Corp., under investigation for accounting problems, said Monday that its longtime chief executive retired over the weekend, becoming the second high-ranking executive to leave in recent months. Laurence Siegel retired under a deal reached with Mills on Saturday but will remain nonexecutive chairman of the company's board of directors. Former Mills Chief Financial Officer Mark Ordan was appointed CEO of the Chevy Chase, Md.-based company, which has been seeking a buyer.

Robust offers for two prominent commercial real estate companies demonstrate that demand by large investors for prime office and retail properties has yet to peak, industry observers said Wednesday. Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management Inc. agreed Wednesday to pay $1.35 billion for Mills Corp., the troubled owner of 38 shopping centers, including two of Southern California's largest malls. The price is considered top dollar by mall industry experts.

Shopping mall developer Mills Corp., owner of Ontario Mills, on Tuesday announced an alliance with online auctioneer EBay Inc. intended to drive people to its malls. The deal, in which Mills Corp. will auction shopping sprees and valuables on EBay, shows how mall developers are using the Web to enhance the brick-and-mortar shopping experience--in part to make malls attractive to online shoppers.

Mills Corp., a shopping mall developer that has lost more than half its market value this year, said Tuesday that it had secured financing for its Meadowlands Xanadu project in New Jersey, clearing the way for a possible sale of the company. Century City-based Colony Capital will provide as much as $500 million in equity financing and arrange for construction loans to fund the balance of the expected $2-billion cost of the Xanadu project, Chevy Chase, Md.-based Mills said.

Cash-strapped mall developer Mills Corp., owner of Ontario Mills mall in San Bernardino County, announced plans Monday to sell its interest in three malls in foreign countries. The Arlington, Va.-based company will get $981 million from buyer Ivanhoe Cambridge for its stake in Vaughan Mills in Ontario, Canada; St. Enoch Centre in Glasgow, Scotland; and Madrid Xanadu in Madrid. But the company expects to net only about $500 million from the sale after paying project costs and relieving some debt.