After a tumultuous process, Simon Property Group has completed its acquisition of Taubman Realty Group.
Under the merger agreement, which was made official Tuesday, Simon acquired an 80 percent ownership stake in the company. The Taubman family sold off about a third of its ownership interest, but will retain a 20 percent stake in the company.
“We are very pleased to complete this transaction and to add some of the world’s premier retail assets to our portfolio,” CEO David Simon said in a press release.
The two companies have danced around a deal for years, with Simon first attempting a hostile takeover of Taubman in 2003. They reached an agreement in February in which Simon would have paid $52.50 per share for its stake.
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But when malls shuttered and retail revenue plummeted due to the pandemic, Simon attempted to back out of the deal, claiming that Taubman did not sufficiently mitigate the impact the health crisis had on its business.
Taubman, which operates high-end malls throughout the country, countered by saying it would sue Simon and force the company to complete the merger.
The two companies agreed to the current arrangement in November, allowing them to avoid litigation over the initial botched agreement. Taubman also agreed to sell for a lower price, which gave Simon an approximately 20 percent discount in the deal.