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 big American company that owned and managed many shopping malls. It was once the second-largest shopping mall operator in the United States. Three brothers, Martin, Matthew, and Maurice Bucksbaum, started the company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1954. Later, its main office moved to Chicago, Illinois.
GGP Inc. was bought by another company, Brookfield Property Partners, in 2018. At that time, GGP owned or managed 125 properties. These properties covered a huge area, about 121 million square feet, across 40 different U.S. states.
Contents
A Look Back: GGP's History
How It All Started
General Growth Properties began in Iowa in 1954. It was first called General Management. The three Bucksbaum brothers, Martin, Matthew, and Maurice, founded it. They borrowed money to build their first shopping center. It was called Town & Country Shopping Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They wanted to open a new location for their father's grocery store there.
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, meaning people could buy shares of it.
In 1984, the company sold its properties for $800 million. This was the biggest real estate deal at that time. But GGP still managed these properties. In 1989, GGP bought another company called Center Companies. This made GGP the fourth-largest shopping center management company in the U.S.
Growing Bigger in the 1990s
In 1993, GGP became a public company again. It raised $400 million from selling shares. The company bought a large part of Centermark Properties in 1994. They later sold some of their share for a big profit.
In 1995, GGP also bought Homart Development Company from Sears for $1.85 billion. Sadly, co-founder and CEO Martin Bucksbaum passed away in 1995. 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 in the 2000s
In 2000, the company's headquarters officially moved to Chicago. In 2004, GGP bought The Rouse Company for $7.2 billion. This company owned many shopping malls and land. By 2008, GGP had taken on a lot of debt, about $25 billion. This caused financial problems for the company.
John Bucksbaum was replaced as CEO, but he stayed on the board. Adam Metz became the new CEO. In 2009, GGP faced a big problem. They couldn't repay $900 million in loans. This put the company at risk of going bankrupt. Their stock price had dropped a lot.
On April 16, 2009, GGP filed for one of the largest real estate bankruptcies ever. They received financial help to get through this tough time. In 2010, the company successfully came out of bankruptcy. This was unusual because creditors were paid back fully.
After leaving bankruptcy, GGP made some changes. They separated Howard Hughes Corporation into its own company. In December 2010, Adam Metz left, and Sandeep Mathrani became the new CEO. GGP continued to sell some properties, like Faneuil Hall in 2011. In 2012, they also separated Rouse Properties into its own company. Co-founder Matthew Bucksbaum passed away in 2013.
GGP Joins Brookfield Property Partners
On August 28, 2018, GGP Inc. was bought by Brookfield Property Partners. This deal was worth $9 billion. After the purchase, Brookfield Properties, a part of Brookfield Property Partners, took over managing GGP's former malls. This brought together malls that had been separated earlier. Brookfield also sold parts of some of these malls to other companies.
See also
- List of Brookfield Properties shopping malls
