Brookfield Asset Management offers $6 billion to take Brookfield Property private

Brookfield Asset Management, which manages $575 billion worth of commercial real estate assets globally, has launched a bid to acquire all the limited partnership units of Brookfield Property Group it does not already own and take the big mall-owner private. 

BAM, along with some institutional partners, has offered to purchase all outstanding shares at a price of $16.50, about 14% higher than the closing prices on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq as of Dec. 31. Total buyout price is approximately $5.9 billion. 

“The privatization will allow us to have greater flexibility in operating the portfolio and realizing the intrinsic value of BPY’s high-quality assets,” said BAM CFO Nick Goodman, who added that the deal gave Brookfield Property Group investors an opportunity to cash in their shares at above-market prices or to continue to invest with BAM in the upside of its portfolio.

Brookfield Property maintains 170 malls and retail centers worth close to $90 billion. Due to the challenges presented by the COVID pandemic, its stock price on the Nasdaq fell by about 20% in 2020.

In a separate  release, Brookfield Property said its board has established an independent committee to review the proposal.