NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Growth Properties Inc <GGP.N> said it has hired law firm Sidley Austin as bankruptcy counsel as it negotiates with lenders for more time to restructure its $27 billion debt.
The move does not mean that a Chapter 11 filing from the company is imminent, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
General Growth, based in Chicago, has $1.13 billion in debt coming due, including $900 million in secured mortgage debt due November 28 on two of its Las Vegas shopping centers, Fashion Show mall and Shoppes at the Palazzo, and $58 million of corporate debt on December 1, the company has said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. It also faces another $3.07 billion due next year.
"We are looking at multiple options to address our current financial situation, among them continuing to work with our syndicate of lenders on loan extensions," General Growth said.
To raise cash, General Growth has put Fashion Show Mall, and Shoppes at the Palazzo casino and another Las Vegas mall, Grand Canal Shoppes, up for sale. The company would need to raise about $1.6 billion to pay off the upcoming maturities through April.
(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman in New York and Jessica Hall in Philadelphia; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Publié le 20 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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