Simon revising takeover bid for General Growth

The mall giant Simon sent a letter to the General Growth's lawyers, stating that it is preparing a takeover bid for General Growth, and will present its revised proposal within a week.

With the renewed bid, Simon values General Growth at $15 per share. Its initial bid of $10 billion valued the Chicago-based company at $9 a share.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Simon is the biggest mall operator in the nation, with 321 U.S. retail properties. General Growth, which follows next, has more than 200 mall properties.

Renewed takeover bid under discussion
Since November, Simon is mulling to acquire the troubled mall operator General Growth that had sought bankruptcy protection in April last year.

Last month, Simon went public with its takeover offer, but the bid was rejected as General Growth was seeking a higher bid.

With the new proposal still being thrashed out, Simon is hopeful to acquire General Growth.

The mall giant Simon is also in talks with its partners like Blackstone Group, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to finance the bid.

Though no further details of the deal have been revealed, Simon said that its revised proposal should alleviate the anti-trust concerns.

Simon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Simon added, "We've made no final decision on what we're going to do. We're working to see if the value is there for us. If we do [decide to go ahead with an offer], we'd tell them well before the motion's heard on another deal."

The mall giant is also in talks with its partners like Blackstone Group, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to finance the bid.

General Growth’s reorganization plan
Meanwhile, General Growth has also suggested a plan to reorganize itself.

The proposal consists of breaking General Growth into two companies, a bigger and healthier mall operator, and the other could be a small company managing troubled assets, which are expected to gain value over a period of time.

The main investor in the two companies would be Brookfield, which would invest around $2.63 billion and arrange $1.5 billion in loan.

General Growth’s two other investors, Fairholme Capital Management and Pershing Square Capital Management, have agreed to invest $3.93 billion.

In order to compensate its investor group in case the company is sold to another bidder, General Growth is planning to ask the court to approve bid protection.