International Plaza will be sold after mall giants Simon and Taubman agree to modified merger deal
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 16, 2020

Two major U.S. mall owners are moving forward with a merger after agreeing to modified deal terms.

Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), the largest U.S. mall owner, will acquire an 80 percent share of Taubman Realty Group Limited Partnership, which owns luxury malls and shopping centers throughout the U.S. The mall giants on Sunday said they have agreed to a modified purchase price of $43 per share. The original agreement, which went public in February, was priced at $52.50 per share.

The Taubman family will retain a 20 percent interest in TRG.

The deal came after a circuit court judge in Michigan referred the case to mediation in June.

Simon announced in June it was walking away from the deal, citing the "disproportionate effect" the novel coronavirus pandemic had on Taubman Centers (NYSE: TCO). Many of Taubman's retail properties are enclosed malls in dense metropolitan areas — and many are dependent on tourists. Of Taubman's 26 properties, seven are in Florida, including Tampa's International Plaza.

Enclosed shopping malls, already at war with e-commerce, have struggled mightily through the pandemic. Most were closed by state orders to slow the virus' spread early on. Even with stay-at-home orders lifted, shoppers are gravitating toward open-air centers. But that hasn't stopped Simon from going on a shopping spree of its own, buying up some of the bankrupt retailers that occupy its properties: It has partnered with competitor Brookfield Property Partners to buy JCPenney Co. for $300 million cash and the assumption of $500 million in debt and also plans to buy Lucky Brand Jeans and Brooks Brothers.