Bust at the mall

The coronavirus pandemic is sidelining deals at the mall.

The nation’s largest mall owner, Simon Property Group, is now trying to get out of a $3.6 billion buyout of a major rival, Taubman, saying Taubman’s properties are mostly indoor malls, which it worries consumers will avoid. It adds that Taubman took on more debt during the pandemic rather than cutting costs. Taubman plans to fight

Simon’s move.

The coronavirus pandemic has created additional havoc in an already stressed retail environment. There are over 1,000 malls in the U.S., and they were already contending with new challenges as shopping moved online and consumers grew tired of mall offerings.

Department stores and mall stalwarts like the Gap Stores are shutting down. Experts expect the pace of such closures to pick up.

CBL, a Chattanooga, Tennessee, mall operator with 108 properties, warned this month that it may fail. Victoria’s Secret, which had expanded aggressively into malls, lost a would-be buyer, private equity firm Sycamore Partners, last month. And several store chains mostly found at malls — J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus and J.Crew — have also filed for bankruptcy protection this year.