General Growth Properties (GGP) issued a press release yesterday announcing the refinancing of five shopping malls, totaling $743 million in new mortgages. The deal also provided a cash-out of $180 million that allowed a total of $563 million in existing mortgages to be refinanced.
The statement by GGP also revealed that $139 million of the $180 million excess proceeds were used to pay down mortgage loans on four different assets.
According to a Barclay’s Capital report, the average term of the new mortgages is expected to increase by 5 years to an average lifespan of 9.2 years. Also, GGP stated that the weighted average mortgage rate on these properties fell from 6.29% to 5.4%.
While the names of the five refinanced properties were not disclosed in the GGP release, Barclay’s said that two are CMBS deals. These properties are Park City Center and River Town.
