Mall Owner Exits Bankruptcy

Glendale Galleria owner General Growth Properties Inc. has completed the final steps of its financial restructuring and has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Chicago-based company announced. As part of its reorganization process, the company restructured about $15 billion of project-level debt, recapitalized with $6.8 billion in new equity capital, paid all creditor claims in full and achieved substantial recovery for equity holders. “Today marks the successful end of one chapter in GGP’s history and the beginning of another,” said Adam Metz, the company’s CEO. “Over the past nineteen months, we have taken extraordinary steps to remake GGP’s entire financial structure while at the same time refocusing our operations across all of our shopping mall properties.” The company has also restructured by splitting itself into two separate and independent publicly traded corporations. The new GGP owns and operates more than 183 regional malls in 43 states. The spin-off company, The Howard Hughes Corporation, consists of GGP’s portfolio of master planned communities and other strategic real estate development opportunities. Jessica Vernabe