$14.8B bid for mall owner GGP’s stock

Brookfield Property Partners LP bid about $14.8 billion to acquire the stake it doesn’t already hold in U.S. mall owner GGP Inc. as the companies seek to repurpose struggling brick-and-mortar shopping centers.

The firm offered $23 a share for the 66 percent of GGP it doesn’t own, Brookfield officials said in a statement Monday. That’s about 21 percent more than Chicago-based GGP’s closing price on Nov. 6, the day before Bloomberg News reported Brookfield had held discussions about taking the company private. GGP said in a separate statement that its board formed a special committee to review the unsolicited proposal.

Brookfield Property Partners is the real estate unit of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Brookfield Asset has been focusing on buying and revamping shopping centers to take advantage of the land they occupy in urban areas. — Bloomberg News