Owners of shopping malls succeeded in reaching an agreement on a merger

Taubman Centers mall operator by Simon Property Group was threatened with disruption due to a decline in consumer activity.

The negotiations started before the coronavirus pandemic when the most extensive U.S. shopping center operator Simon Property Group signed a deal to take over 80% of shares in Taubman Centers for $3.6 billion. Later became known that Simon intended to break the agreement. In many ways, this happened because Taubman’s 26 shopping centers were severely affected by a sharp decrease in visitors’ flow. The result was a lawsuit.

As a result, the parties managed to come to a new agreement and decided not to bring the case to court. And the revised terms signal that there is hope for a rapid recovery of traffic in America’s shopping malls once the Covid-19 vaccine becomes widely available.

Under the new terms of the deal, Simon will pay $43 per share for Taubman, about 18% below the original price of $52.50. And that means savings of $800 million. Both parties have approved the new deal terms. The deal will be completed either by the end of this year or early 2021.

The companies also said that they had settled the unfinished legal process. The first trial, scheduled earlier on Monday, November 16, in which the transaction was to be challenged, will not occur.

U.S. shopping centers began to experience difficulties before the pandemic when they lose large anchor stores that could not compete with e-commerce. The coronavirus appearance led to some new and severe problems, which not everyone could cope with. That led to the bankruptcy of CBL and Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, which became known earlier this year.