Brookfield lodges takeover bid for Rouse Properties

Brookfield Asset Management is lodging an unsolicited, all-cash bid for a majority interest in mall owner Rouse Properties.

The Toronto-based firm, which already owns around one-third of Bryant Park-based Rouse’s stock, is offering $17 a share for the rest of the company’s outstanding stock in a deal that would value the retail landlord at around $1 billion.

The $17-per-share bid is a 26 percent premium on Rouse’s Friday closing price, according to the Wall Street Journal, with Brookfield’s total offer valued at $657 million based on Rouse’s 58 million outstanding shares.

Rouse shares jumped 28 percent in wake of news of the bid, with the mall operator saying a special committee of company directors will review the offer “promptly.”

Brookfield has about $225 billion under management globally, including through subsidiary Brookfield Property Partners. Real estate investment trust Rouse owns a portfolio of 35 malls and retail centers across the country. [WSJ] – Rey Mashayekhi