Macerich Sells Minority Stake in Eight Malls Including Los Cerritos Center and Lakewood

Macerich Co. agreed to sell minority stakes in eight U.S. malls for $2.3 billion to Singapore’s GIC Pte and property investor Heitman LLC, a deal that will allow the landlord to pay a special dividend, buy back shares and cut debt.

GIC, in its first deal with Macerich, will own 40 percent of five malls, and Heitman will have a 49 percent interest in three, Macerich said in a statement Wednesday. The transactions are scheduled to close in phases starting in October and concluding in the first quarter.

Macerich has been under pressure to boost shareholder value after spurning a takeover offer from Simon Property Group Inc. earlier this year. The $2.3 billion deal with GIC and Heitman includes $1.14 billion of proceeds from new financing on five properties as part of the deal, Macerich said. The company plans to use the proceeds for share buybacks, debt reduction and a special dividend of $3.50 to $4.50 a share.