General Growth on track to refinance $3.8 billion in 2012, CEO says

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., June 12 - General Growth Properties, Inc. remains focused on being an owner of high-quality regional malls and disposing of "noncore" real estate while continuing to derisk its balance sheet, chief executive officer Sandeep Mathrani said during a presentation at REITWeek 2012 NAREIT's Investor Forum in New York on Tuesday.

General Growth refinanced $5 billion of debt in 2011.

To date in 2012, the company has refinanced $2.7 billion, with another $1.0 billion of debt expected to close within the next 60 to 90 days, Mathrani said.

General Growth expects to refinance about $3.8 billion in total in 2012.

Almost half of the company's debt, or $9 billion, will have been refinanced through 2011 and 2012.

Mathrani said General Growth only has $300 million of debt maturities coming due this year and $1.2 billion of debt maturities coming due in 2013.

"If you look at the whole dollars, there is not a lot coming due in our portfolio, so we truly derisked it," said Mathrani.

General Growth also redid its credit line into a new $1 billion secured corporate revolver, which Mathrani said is not for everyday use. Rather, it is to pay debts in the event the capital markets freeze or the company is unable to obtain investment-grade financing.

Also, General Growth is focused on laddering its debt maturities to $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion annually. The company said it has made significant progress in this regard since the end of 2010.

In 2011, the company disposed of or spun off $2.5 billion of real estate such as strip malls, said Mathrani, leaving the company with 135 malls in the United States and 15 in Brazil.

Long term, General Growth wants to own about 120 to 125 malls and grow its Brazilian platform. Mathrani said the focus is on "A" malls and selling off malls with sales of less than $330 to $340 per square foot.

General Growth Properties is a Chicago-based owner and manager of regional and super regional shopping malls.

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