Brookfield Buying The Mills

The Mills Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Chevy Chase, Md., is being acquired by Brookfield Asset Management for a total price of about $7.5 billion.The price includes a cash payment of $21 per Mills common share and limited partnership unit, for a total value of $1.35 billion, and the assumption of The Mills debt and preferred stock, the companies reported. The Mills, a shopping center REIT, will merge into a newly formed subsidiary of Brookfield. Brookfield has also agreed to provide The Mills with debt financing until the completion of the merger by assuming The Mills' approximately US$1 billion senior term loan from Goldman Sachs Mortgage Co. and subsequently revising the terms of such loans and providing a US$500 million revolving line of credit. "This merger will provide the resources to upgrade our properties, reinforce our organization, and continue to attract premium tenants to The Mills concept," said Mark Ordan, chief executive officer and president of The Mills. The companies can be found online at http://www.millscorp.com and http://www.brookfield.com.