Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

outlet center An outlet store, factory outlet or factory shop is a brick and mortar or online store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public. Traditionally, a factory outlet was a store attached to a factory or warehouse, sometimes allowin ...

s, and community/ lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. Worldwide, it owns interests in 232 properties comprising approximately of gross leasable area in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

History

Simon Property Group dates to 1960, when brothers

Melvin Simon Melvin Simon (October 21, 1926 – September 16, 2009)
September 18, 2009 was an American businessman and ...

and Herbert Simon began developing strip malls in Indianapolis, Indiana. In December 1993, they took their interests public as Simon Property Group in the largest

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

of a real estate investment trust to date. Simon Property merged with the newly public DeBartolo Realty Corporation, owner of the real estate assets of

Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. Edward John DeBartolo Sr. (May 17, 1909 – December 19, 1994) was an American businessman. In 1971, his Ohio-based corporation was ranked as 47th among the nation's top 400 construction contractors. In 1983, DeBartolo was included on ''For ...

, in 1996 to form Simon DeBartolo Group. In 1997, the company acquired The Retail Property Trust for $1.2 billion in a hostile takeover. Also in 1997, in partnership with

Macerich Macerich ( ) is a real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers. It is the third-largest owner and operator of shopping centers in the United States. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned interests in 52 properties comprisi ...

, the company acquired 12 malls from IBM's

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

plan for $974.5 million. One year after these acquisitions, the company acquired

Corporate Property Investors Corporate Property Investors was a real estate investment trust that built several notable shopping centers, including Lenox Square in Atlanta, the Burlington Mall in Massachusetts, and Roosevelt Field Mall in New York. History CPI was founded in ...

and was renamed Simon Property Group. The company also acquired an ownership interest in Groupe BEG, S.A., operator of shopping centers in Europe. In 1999, the company acquired 14 shopping centers from New England Development for $725 million. In 2002, in partnership with

Westfield Group Westfield Group was an Australian shopping centre company that existed from 1960 to 2014, when it split into two independent companies: Scentre Group, which owns and operates the Australian and New Zealand Westfield shopping centre portfolio; ...

and

The Rouse Company The Rouse Company, founded by Hunter Moss and James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company. Beginnings - Moss-Rouse Company T ...

, the company acquired 13 properties from

Rodamco North America Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE (previously Unibail-Rodamco SE) is a French commercial real estate company headquartered in Paris, France. Its history originates with the formation of two separate shopping centre operators, Unibail (founded in Fran ...

including

Copley Place Copley Place is an enclosed shopping mall within the mixed-use Copley Square in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It features direct indoor connections to several nearby destinations including four office towers, and the Bosto ...

Houston Galleria The Galleria, stylized theGalleria and also known as the Houston Galleria, is an upscale mixed-use urban development and shopping mall located in the Uptown Houston, Uptown District of Houston, Texas, United States.SouthPark Mall. In 2003, Simon acquired a majority interest The Kravco Company, owner of the King of Prussia, for $300 million. In 2004, the company entered the outlet mall business with the acquisition of Chelsea Property Group Inc. for $3.5 billion. In April 2007, Simon and Farallon Capital acquired the Mills Corporation. In 2009, Simon tried to buy malls owned by

General Growth Properties GGP Inc. (an initialism of General Growth Properties) was an American commercial real estate company and the second-largest shopping mall operator in the United States. It was founded by brothers Martin, Matthew and Maurice Bucksbaum in Cedar Ra ...

. In February 2010, Simon placed a bid acquire General Growth, which was in

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

protection. However, the bid was rejected by GGP. A GGP shareholder filed suit ''(Young v. Bucksbaum)'' against the company's

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

for rejecting Simon's bid, alleging breach of fiduciary duty. In April 2010, Simon offered to make a $2.5 billion equity investment in GGP including a $1 billion investment by Paulson & Co. In May 2010, Simon withdrew from the bidding for GGP after GGP favored transactions with Brookfield Asset Management. In May 2010, Simon acquired

Prime Retail The Lightstone Group is a privately held real estate investment company which owns and operates a diversified portfolio of multifamily, office, industrial, hotel, and retail properties. Lightstone has invested directly in individual real estate as ...

's Prime Outlets-Puerto Rico in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico In August 2010, Simon acquired an additional 21 outlet malls, including locations in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...

San Marcos, Texas San Marcos ( ) is a city and the county seat of Hays County, Texas, United States. The city's limits extend into Caldwell and Guadalupe Counties, as well. San Marcos is within the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan area and on the Interstate 35 ...

and

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...

for a total of $2.3 billion. In December 2010, Simon made a $4.5 billion bid for Capital Shopping Centres Group plc; however, the offer was rejected and withdrawn in January 2011. In September 2011, Simon acquired Southdale Center in

Edina, Minnesota Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota. Edina began as a small farming and mil ...

. In August 2013, Toronto Premium Outlets opened in

Halton Hills ) , image_map = , mapsize = 200px , map_caption = , pushpin_map = CAN ON Halton#Canada Southern Ontario , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , subdivision_type ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. In October 2014,

Premium Outlets Montreal Premium Outlets Montreal is an outlet mall in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada. Being the second Premium Outlet Centre in Canada, and the second conglomeration of stores of its type in that country (after Toronto Premium Outlets Toronto Premium Out ...

, the second in Canada, opened. In May 2018,

Premium Outlet Collection YEG Premium Outlet Collection EIA is a fully-enclosed Outlet store, outlet shopping mall in Leduc County just east of Edmonton International Airport. It opened on May 2, 2018, after being delayed from fall 2017. It was developed by Ivanhoé Cambridge ...

opened at Edmonton International Airport. In May 2014, the company completed the

corporate spin-off A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, or starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. Characte ...

of Washington Prime Group, headed by Mark Ordan, the final CEO of Mills Corporation. In January 2015, Washington Prime Group acquired

Glimcher Realty Trust Glimcher Realty Trust was a real estate investment trust based in Columbus, Ohio that invested in shopping malls. In 2015, the company was acquired by Washington Prime Group. Investments As of December 31, 2013, the company owned interests in 2 ...

and was renamed

WP Glimcher Washington Prime Group Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers. The company is organized in Indiana with its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. From January 2015 to September 2016, the company had the name ...

. As part of the deal, Simon acquired

Jersey Gardens The Mills at Jersey Gardens, originally and also still colloquially called Jersey Gardens, is a two-level indoor outlet mall in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The mall opened on October 21, 1999, and is the largest outlet mall in New Jersey, and much clos ...

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

and University Park Village in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, while WP Glimcher acquired

Brunswick Square Brunswick Square is a public garden and ancillary streets along two of its sides in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is overlooked by the School of Pharmacy and the Foundling Museum to the north; the Brunswick Centre to the w ...

East Brunswick, New Jersey East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the city ...

from Simon. In March 2015, the company offered $23.3 billion for

; however the offer was rejected and withdrawn in April 2015. In September 2016, in partnership with Authentic Brands Group and

GGP Inc. GGP Inc. (an initialism of General Growth Properties) was an American Commercial property, commercial real estate company and the second-largest shopping mall operator in the United States. It was founded by brothers Martin Bucksbaum, Martin, Ma ...

, the company acquired Aéropostale. In February 2020, in partnership with Authentic Brands Group, the company acquired

Forever 21 Forever 21 is a multinational fast fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally founded as the store Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984,Forever 21History & Facts, n.d. Retrieved 27 April 2014 ...

. On March 18, 2020, the company announced the closure of its U.S. shopping malls until March 29, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. At the time, it was the largest mall owner in the U.S. In August 2020, the company discussed repurposing large stores into warehouses and fulfillment centers for

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

. Also in August 2020, in partnership with Authentic Brands, the company acquired

Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...

and

Lucky Brand Jeans Lucky Brand Jeans is an American denim company founded in Vernon, California in 1990 by Gene Montesano and Barry Perlman.Vanessa McGradA Lucky Pair ''Catalyst'' Spring/Summer 2008 Lucky also produces other apparel, including activewear, outerwear, ...

. In December 2020, the company acquired Taubman Centers for $3.4 billion. It also acquired

J.C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

in partnership with Brookfield Asset Management. In April 2022, it was announced that Simon and Brookfield are set to offer to buy Kohl's. Simon purchased a 50% stake in Jamestown, a real estate developer, in October 2022.

Legal record

In 2007, the company was sued for banning the use of Segways, which the plaintiff claimed was in violation of the

Americans With Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...

. In 2009, the company was sued by a nightclub for

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...

for allegedly blocking its main entrance since the majority of its clientele were black. In 2011, the company was sued for allegedly firing a woman because she was pregnant. In 2011, the company agreed to pay $125,000 to settle allegations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that Latino janitors working for the company were subjected to daily verbal attacks because of their national origin.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Financial services companies established in 1993 Real estate companies established in 1993 Companies based in Indianapolis Shopping center management firms Real estate investment trusts of the United States 1993 establishments in Indiana

History

Legal record

See also

References

External links