It looks like the bid for the Mills Corp. by Brookfield Asset Management is going to get some competition. A partnership between Simon Property and Farallon Capital Management has entered the bidding for the company and they are offering more money, 1.5 billion, and 6 months faster turnaround on paying the shareholders.

Another example of how the commercial real estate market is still very active.

Simon Property Group Inc. and Farallon Capital Management LLC said Monday they are offering $24 per share in cash, or more than $1.5 billion, for mega-mall developer Mills Corp, topping a previous $1.35 billion deal from Canadian investor Brookfield Asset Management.
In a letter to Mills, Simon Property and Farallon said they will each provide $650 million of equity for the transaction. Funds managed by Farallon currently own about 10.9 percent of Mills outstanding shares, making it the largest reported Mills shareholder.
Simon Property and Farallon said their proposed tender offer would give Mills’ shareholders payment at least six months faster than the Brookfield deal.
Simon Property said it also obtained an option to buy about 2.8 million Mills’ shares from Stark Master Fund Ltd. for $24 per share, effective when the tender offer begins.
Earlier this month, Mills, which is struggling under heavy debt and widespread accounting problems, agreed to a deal with Brookfield Management that represented an 18 percent premium to Mills’ Jan. 16 closing price. Including debt and preferred stock, the deal is worth $7.5 billion. via the AP and Topix.net

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