UPDATE 1-General Growth gets two-week loan extension
(Adds details, background)
PHILADELPHIA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Shopping mall owner General Growth Properties Inc GGP.N said on Sunday it won a two-week extension on the maturity of $900 million in mortgage loans, giving it a reprieve as it talks to its lenders about a longer term extension.
General Growth, the No. 2 mall owner in the United States, has been in talks with lenders to extend $900 million in secured mortgages on two Las Vegas shopping centers, Fashion Show mall and Shoppes at the Palazzo.
The company said it was in talks for a longer extension, but additional details were not immediately available. The previously due date was Nov. 28.
Earlier this month, General Growth confirmed it hired law firm Sidley Austin as bankruptcy counsel as it negotiates with its lenders.
In total, the Chicago-based real estate investment trust faces $1.035 billion in debt coming due before the end of the year, and another $3.07 billion in debt maturing next year. General Growth has $21.9 billion of debt maturing by the end of 2012.
To raise cash, General Growth has put Fashion Show Mall and Shoppes at the Palazzo casino and another Las Vegas mall, Grand Canal Shoppes, up for sale.
It has also put other properties on the market, including two office assets in Portland and Seattle, as well as Victoria Ward in Honolulu. (Reporting by Jessica Hall; Editing by Kim Coghill) (For more M&A news and our DealZone blog, go to here)
