GGP Inc. facts for kids
Final logo, used from 2011–2018
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Formerly
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NYSE: GGP |
| Industry | Commercial real estate |
| Genre | Shopping malls |
| Fate | Acquired by Brookfield Property Partners |
| Founded | 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
| Founders |
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| Defunct | August 28, 2018 |
| Headquarters |
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US
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Area served
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United States |
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Key people
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| Revenue |  $2.346 billion (2016) |
| $1.272 billion (2016) |
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| Total assets |  $22.732 billion (2016) |
| Total equity | $8.635 billion (2016) |
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Number of employees
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1,800 (2016) |
GGP Inc. was a large American company that owned and managed many shopping malls. It was the second-biggest shopping mall operator in the United States. Three brothers, Martin Bucksbaum, Matthew Bucksbaum, and Maurice Bucksbaum, started the company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1954. From 2000, its main office was in Chicago, Illinois. In 2009, the company went through the biggest real estate bankruptcy in American history at that time.
In 2018, GGP was bought by Brookfield Property Partners. The management of its shopping malls was then moved to Brookfield Properties. When it was acquired, GGP owned 125 properties. These properties covered about 121 million square feet in 40 U.S. states. Only Simon Property Group owned more square footage.
Contents
Company History
Starting Out: The 20th Century
General Growth was founded in Iowa in 1954. The three Bucksbaum brothers, Martin, Matthew, and Maurice, named it General Management. That year, they borrowed $1.2 million. They used this money to build their first shopping center. It was called Town & Country Shopping Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They built it to open a fourth store for their father's grocery business.
By 1964, the company owned five malls. Its main office moved to Des Moines, Iowa. In 1970, General Management changed its name to General Growth Properties (GGP). It also became a public company. This means it sold parts of the company, called shares, to the public. In 1984, the company sold its properties for $800 million. This was the largest single real estate deal at that time. However, GGP kept managing these properties. In 1989, the company bought Center Companies. This made GGP the fourth-largest shopping center management company in the U.S.
In 1993, GGP became a public company again. It raised $400 million by selling more shares. In 1994, the company bought a 40% share in Centermark Properties. In 1995, GGP sold some of its share for a profit of over $100 million. Also in 1995, the company bought the Homart Development Company from Sears for $1.85 billion. Later that year, co-founder and CEO Martin Bucksbaum passed away. The company then moved its main office from Des Moines to Chicago. In 1999, John Bucksbaum, Martin's son, became the new CEO.
Challenges and Changes: The 21st Century
In 2000, the company's main office officially moved to Chicago. In 2004, GGP bought The Rouse Company. This company owned 37 regional shopping malls. GGP also bought Howard Hughes Corporation, a land development company. These purchases cost $7.2 billion. By 2008, GGP had taken on a lot of debt, about $25 billion. The company was struggling to make its payments. John Bucksbaum was replaced as CEO, but he stayed as chairman. Adam Metz became the new CEO. In December 2008, a hedge fund manager named Bill Ackman announced he owned 25% of the company.
In 2009, GGP could not repay $900 million in loans. This put the company in danger of filing for bankruptcy. At that time, the company's stock price had dropped by 98% in one year. The Bucksbaum family's ownership in the company, which was worth $2.5 billion in 2005, also lost most of its value. On April 16, 2009, GGP filed for one of the largest real estate bankruptcies ever. It received $375 million in special financing from Bill Ackman's hedge fund. In February 2010, Brookfield Asset Management invested $2.625 billion in the company. In November 2010, GGP successfully exited bankruptcy protection. All creditors were paid back, and those who owned shares got a "substantial" amount of their investment back. This is unusual in bankruptcy cases. As part of this, GGP separated Howard Hughes Corporation into its own company.
In December 2010, CEO Adam Metz and President Thomas Nolan left the company. Sandeep Mathrani became the new CEO. In 2011, the company sold Faneuil Hall for $140 million. In January 2012, GGP completed separating Rouse Properties into its own company. In 2013, co-founder Matthew Bucksbaum passed away. In February 2014, Bill Ackman sold his remaining shares in the company back to GGP for $556 million. In April 2015, the company bought the Crown Building for $1.78 billion. In January 2017, the company officially changed its name to GGP Inc.
Acquisition by Brookfield Property Partners
On August 28, 2018, GGP was bought by Brookfield Property Partners. The deal was worth $9 billion in cash. After the purchase, the management of GGP's former shopping malls was moved to Brookfield's Brookfield Properties company. This acquisition brought together malls that had been separated earlier. After closing the deal, Brookfield immediately sold parts of some of the former GGP malls to other companies.
See also
- List of Brookfield Properties shopping malls
