CHICAGO and TORONTO, Sept. 21,
2011 /PRNewswire/ -- General Growth Properties, Inc. (NYSE:
GGP) ("GGP") and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board ("CPPIB")
today announced a joint-venture partnership to acquire Plaza
Frontenac. As part of the transaction, CPPIB also will invest in
GGP's Saint Louis Galleria. The joint venture will maintain
ownership in the two high profile malls in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Under the joint venture, GGP will own a 55% interest and CPPIB
will own a 45% interest in Plaza Frontenac. CPPIB's acquired
interest in Saint Louis Galleria will be 26%.
The acquisition of Plaza Frontenac represents the addition of a
strong, luxury brand asset, with 482,000 square feet of total
leasable area and in-line sales of more than $500 per square foot. The mall is one of only
nine malls worldwide anchored by both Saks Fifth Avenue and
Neiman Marcus. After the
acquisition, GGP will own and manage three of these nine
properties. Saint Louis Galleria is a super-regional mall with
gross leasable area of more than 1 million square feet with in-line
sales of more than $585 per square
foot. Saint Louis Galleria is anchored by Macy's, Dillard's and
Nordstrom (opens September 23,
2011).
"Plaza Frontenac is certainly a retail gem in the Midwest and we
couldn't be more thrilled to add it to our portfolio. Owning both
Saint Louis Galleria and Plaza Frontenac allows us to further
solidify our presence in the St.
Louis trade area and create retail synergies between the
properties so both can flourish," said Shobi Khan, chief operating officer of General
Growth Properties, Inc. "As much as we are excited with the
Frontenac acquisition, we're
equally thrilled to form a prosperous, long-term relationship with
CPPIB. CPPIB has a proven track record as a strong investment
partner and sophisticated commercial real estate investor."
"This joint venture expands the geographic diversity of CPPIB's
U.S. real estate portfolio with the addition of two premier malls,"
said Peter Ballon, VP and Head of
Americas, Real Estate Investments, CPPIB. "We look forward to
partnering alongside GGP whose experienced management team and
proven track record are well-aligned with our strategy to acquire
and hold high quality assets over the long term."
PLAZA FRONTENAC
Plaza Frontenac is a 482,000
square foot high-end luxury center in St.
Louis, MO, with sales per square foot of more than
$500. It's one of nine malls
worldwide anchored by both a Saks and
Neiman Marcus; together with Fashion Show (Las Vegas) and Tysons Galleria (McLean, VA—DC), the addition of Plaza
Frontenac will give GGP ownership of three of the nine. Plaza
Frontenac makes its home in the
heart of St. Louis' most affluent
demographic area. Plaza Frontenac's roster of fine dining restaurants
includes Brio Tuscan Grille and Fleming's Steakhouse. Inside,
shoppers discover St. Louis' most
fashionable retailers, with more than 65% of them exclusive to
Plaza Frontenac, including Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, Cole
Haan, Sur La Table, BCBG Max Azria, Juicy Couture,
Kate Spade, and L'Occitane.
SAINT LOUIS GALLERIA
Saint Louis Galleria is one of St.
Louis' top tourist destinations, boasting more than 165
specialty stores—more than 25 of which are exclusive within the
St. Louis area, including
Anthropologie, The Art of Shaving, The Bose Store, Janie and Jack,
Lacoste, Love Culture, LUSH, Marmi, Restoration Hardware, True
Religion, Urban Outfitters and Vera
Bradley. Nordstrom is scheduled to open September 23. Outstanding culinary choices
include The Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, Saint
Louis Bread Co., and soon-to-open Black Finn American Grille and
Vida Mexican Cantina & Kitchen.
ABOUT GGP
GGP is one of the nation's largest shopping center owners. GGP
has ownership and management interest in 166 regional and super
regional shopping malls in 43 states. The company portfolio totals
169 million square feet of space. A publicly-traded real estate
investment trust (REIT), GGP is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol GGP.
ABOUT CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a
professional investment management organization that invests the
funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits
on behalf of 17 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In
order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, the CPPIB
invests in public equities, private equities, real estate,
inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and fixed income
instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in London and Hong
Kong, the CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the
Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At
June 30, 2011, the CPP Fund totaled
C$153.2 billion. For more information
about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.ca.
SOURCE General Growth Properties, Inc.