Simon Buys Puerto Rican Property

Simon Property Group, Indianapolis, has acquired Plaza Carolina, a 1.1 million-square-foot San Juan, Puerto Rico, retail property for $309 million, as well as interests in two Northeastern United States properties.The retail real estate investment trust said the Plaza Carolina acquisition -- from a partnership 50% owned by the California Public Employees' Retirement System and 50% by the State of Michigan Treasury -- was financed by a private placement by Credit Suisse First Boston of a five-year, $260 million loan at a blended rate of 3.1%, including a fixed- and a floating-rate component. CalPERS and the Michigan Treasury have also sold their interests in the 655,000-square-foot Bangor Mall, Bangor, Maine, and the 1.1 million-square-foot Montgomery Mall in Montgomeryville, Pa., to the other partners in the assets. As a result, Simon's interest in Bangor Mall has risen from 32.6% to 67.6%, and its interest in Montgomeryville Mall has risen from 23% to 54%, according to the REIT.