Mall operator becomes biggest real estate company

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The nation's largest shopping mall operator is now also the country's largest real estate company.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reported Monday that Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group is the only real estate company listed on the Standard & Poor's 100 Index, a listing of the nation's largest and most established companies including Apple, Coca-Cola and McDonald's.

A Simon spokesman says a recent enterprise value of $65 billion as calculated by Yahoo Finance understates its true enterprise value, which Simon estimates at $85 billion.

The IBJ says that makes Simon worth more than Starbucks ($42 billion), Nike ($48 billion) and News Corp. ($55 billion).

In April, the company reported a 9.7 percent increase in revenue, to $1.12 billion and increased its quarterly dividend to $1 per share.