Simon Hikes Offer for Taubman

Simon Property Group, Indianapolis, has upped its offer for Taubman Centers to $20 per share from $18 a share.Simon, a retail real estate investment trust, has also roped in Westfield America, a U.S. subsidiary of an Australian property trust, as a partner in its bid to acquire the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Taubman, another retail REIT. Simon said it is asking Taubman shareholders to tender their common shares of Taubman at the increased bid price by midnight Feb. 14. The price represents a 50% premium to the price of Taubman shares when Simon made its first formal acquisition proposal, and is 25% above both Taubman's closing price on Jan. 14 and the highest closing price in Taubman's 10-year history as a public company prior to the Simon proposal, according to Simon. Taubman said it will advise stockholders of its position on the offer within 10 business days. If less than two-thirds of Taubman's approximately 52.2 million common shares are tendered by the deadline, Simon and Westfield propose to withdraw the offer and end the efforts to acquire Taubman. The agreement between Westfield and Simon calls for the former to pay 50% of the total consideration paid for the Taubman shares acquired.