NEW YORK – A federal judge Wednesday provided more time for General Growth Properties, the bankrupt owner of Providence Place, to exclusively present a plan for lifting itself out of bankruptcy.
The ruling gives GGP until July 15 to file a plan and until Sept. 15 to solicit acceptances of a plan, according to GGP. During that period no other company can offer a reorganization plan.
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The ruling seemingly deals a blow to rival mall operator Simon Property Group LLC, which had offered $10 billion for the Chicago-based company but was greeted with a cool reaction from GGP leadership.
Last month, after the Simon offer, GGP offered a plan that would split the company in two and involve Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc. providing $2.5 billion in equity via stock purchases in GGP.
The extension, the judge said, would provide more time to study both proposals. On Wednesday, GGP hailed the judge’s ruling.
“We are pleased with the Bankruptcy Court’s decision,” GGP CEO Adam Metz in a statement. “The extension is consistent with our timeline for evaluating all alternatives for emergence and recognizes our tremendous accomplishments in these large and complex Chapter 11 cases in a short amount of time.”
GGP filed for bankruptcy in April after going on a buying spree that left the company with about $27 billion in debt. It owns more than 200 malls across the country, including the 2 million-square-foot Providence Place and the 1.04 million-square-foot Silver City Galleria in Taunton. The company also manages the 700,000-square-foot Swansea Mall, which is owned by New York-based Carlyle Development Group Inc.
