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Court Confirms General Growth Restructuring

Bankrupt shopping mall owner General Growth Properties won approval from a bankruptcy court for its reorganization plan, which will affect more than $10 billion in mortgage loans, the Chicago-based company said Tuesday.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York confirmed the reorganization plan for 194 debtors owning 85 regional shopping centers, 15 office properties and three community centers associated with approximately $10.25 billion in secured mortgage loans.

The plan allows for the loans to be restructured and for all undisputed creditor claims to be paid in full. Other key provisions include an extension of the maturities of the loans, with no loan maturing prior to January 2014, and continuation of the interest on the loans at the current, nondefault rate.

Confirmation for the plans of another 26 debtors owing an additional $1.7 billion in secured mortgage loans has been adjourned pending approval of mezzanine and secured mortgage loan holders.

General Growth, which owns more than 200 shopping malls, filed for bankruptcy in April after struggling to manage the massive $27 billion debt burden it accumulated with large acquisitions over the last several years.

General Growth had tried to restructure its debt through debt exchanges and had failed. It won a waiver from creditors that would have forgiven missed payments for the rest of the year, but that waiver was conditional on the success of its debt exchange.

General Growth obtained approximately $375 million in DIP financing from Pershing Square Capital Management, the investment group headed by activist investor William Ackman.

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