General Growth Properties
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General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the United States. It is based in Chicago, Illinois.
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[edit] History
The company was founded by two brothers, Martin and Matthew Bucksbaum, in 1954. That year they opened their first shopping mall, Town & Country Shopping Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1960 General Management opened its second mall, Duck Creek Plaza in Bettendorf, Iowa; this was their first mall to have a department store (Younkers) as an anchor.
In 1970 General Management became General Growth Properties; two years later they became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. However, by 1984, management felt that the company's stock price did not fully reflect the value of its business, and so it embarked on selling the company's assets and taking the management company private. That year they sold 19 malls to Equitable Real Estate in an $800 million deal -- considered the largest single real estate transaction in the United States at that time -- but continued to manage the malls as part of the deal. Ultimately, shareholders realized a 22% internal rate of return on their investment from the original IPO through 1984. Another initial public offering was held in 1993 to raise money for future expansion plans. In 1995 General Growth moved its headquarters from Des Moines, Iowa, to Chicago.
Since 1993, General Growth has expanded its portfolio dramatically by acquiring existing properties and constructing new malls. On November 12, 2004, General Growth acquired The Rouse Company in the largest retail real estate merger in American history.
As of March 2006, General Growth owns, has an interest in, or manages more than 225 retail properties in 44 states, as well as several Master Planned Communities, including Summerlin in Las Vegas and The Woodlands and Bridgeland in Houston.
As of September 9, 2006 Federated Department Stores announced that they planned to convert nearly all of the May Department Stores brands into either Macy's or Bloomingdale's and to close a large number of stores. Many GGP malls were hit hard by these closings, and the company is struggling to find tenants to replace the vacant anchor stores.
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[edit] References
- Business Record (Des Moines), December, 2003 - General Growth Properties Inc., by Stephen McIntire "In 1954, brothers Martin and Matthew Bucksbaum decided to expand their family's grocery operation. They built Town and Country Center in Cedar Rapids, one of the first shopping centers in the Midwest."
- Chicago Tribune: Eat turkey. Take a nap. At midnight, we shop! "General Growth Properties, a Chicago-based mall operator, plans to open seven of its malls at 1 a.m. this year, including Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee." (Story on shopping the day after Thanksgiving)
