Update 6/10/20: Deal is off.
Simon Property Group will acquire Taubman Centers in a deal value at $3.6B (CNBC). The deal is expected to close within the next 6 months.
There are over 20 Taubman locations across the US (Locator). Hopefully these malls will eventually begin to carry gift cards at the guest services desk, like Simon Malls do. For some time now, Simon Malls have been carrying a $1,000 Visa gift card with a $3.95 activation fee which makes it easy to manufacture spend if you have a way to unload these or if you want to just front-load your spend for a while in order to meet a spend requirement.
Hat tip to throwaway469302
https://www.wsj.com/articles/property-owner-simon-sees-buying-tenants-as-a-way-to-boost-malls-11592913601
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/09/simon-brookfield-to-save-jc-penney-from-bankruptcy-keep-650-shops.html
For a moment I thought Simon $1K GC is dead.
Taubman just announced that it intends to hold Simon to its obligations under the Merger Agreement and the agreed transaction, and to vigorously contest Simon’s purported termination and legal claims.
It’s like watching a couple fight.
I probably should’ve used an alias for my name..
That deal did not make that much sense even before the virus, SPG overpaid dearly.
and we’re their kids selfishly wondering how this will affect us (our gc) lol
Simon Mall’s secret game plan to compete with Amazon revealed:
1. Buy undervalued malls at large discount
2. Offer $1k VGC at new location.
3. Double revenue at new locations
4. Open liquidation options. A small convenience store or a gas station with a MO machine.
5 Quadruple revenue.
Repeat process multiple times.
6. Sell malls to Amazon at a much higher price.
RIP amazon lol
So much for that plan…
For a minute that looked like $3.6. I thought that’s the new fee for $1000 card.
Just realized I have a dog in a $3.6B fight!
Wow — $3.6b purchase. That’s a heck of a lot of $1K gift cards. They’ll probably hold up the line at Walmart for days!
In case you haven’t seen the latest $1k VGC, they’ve cheepened on the make and material (no longer embossed printing and a lot more flex in the plastic). The savings will help finance the purchase.