Simon calls off $16.8B bid to create mall colossus

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Simon Property Group is calling off its hostile $16.8 billion takeover bid for Macerich, which would have tied together two of the nation’s largest mall operators.

The Indianapolis company upped its bid two weeks ago to $95.50 per share from $91, calling that its best and final offer and giving Macerich an April 1 deadline to respond. The new offer was valued at $23.2 billion counting debt.

Simon announced late Tuesday night that it had withdrawn the offer, shortly after Macerich’s board unanimously rejected the bid.

The Macerich board concluded that now was not the right time to sell, said director Fred Hubbell in a printed statement.

“The independent directors and management are absolutely united in the belief that the execution of Macerich’s business strategy will deliver more value for stockholders than Simon’s proposal,” he said.

Simon disclosed in November that it had accumulated a 3.6 percent stake in Macerich. It went public with its takeover bid in early March, saying that Macerichwas refusing to negotiate.

Simon is a real estate investment trust that operates more than 200 properties in the United States, with a heavy presence in Florida, Texas and California. It also runs shopping centers in Canada, Japan, Mexico and other countries.

Macerich has 51 shopping centers, including locations in Chicago, the metro New York area and Washington, D.C. Its malls include Tysons Corner Center near Washington, D.C., and Queens Center in New York City.

Shares of The Macerich Co. slipped 83 cents to $83.50 in premarket trading Wednesday. Simon Property Group Inc. shares closed at $195.64 Tuesday after falling $1.33.