Mills Corp. is paying $1.3 billion for full interests in three B-class malls and 50 percent interests in five A-Class malls controlled by General Motors Pension Trust, according to Citigroup Smith Barney analyst Jonathan Litt. Several REITs have been circling the GM portfolio since the fund put the properties on the block earlier this year. The deal represents a 6 percent cap rate, Litt says.
Mills will take over management of the malls from Taubman Centers, which secured the contracts on 10 GM malls, including those to be purchased by Mills, in 1998. The three B-class malls, which bring in sales per square feet in the $247-$352 range, include Richmond, Calif.'s Hilltop Mall, Gaitherburg, Md.'s Lakeforest Mall and Glen Burnie, Md.'s Marley Station. The five A-Class malls to be purchased include Ann Arbor, Mich.'s Briarwood Mall; Miami's The Falls; Reno, Nev.'s Meadowood Mall; Pleasanton, Calif.'s Stoneridge Mall; and Columbus, Ohio's Tuttle Crossing. These A-class malls report sales per square foot in the $384-$473 range. All but one of the malls included in the deal are anchored by a JCPenney store. Mills executives were not immediately available for comment.