Simon Property secures £3 bn to fund CSC acquisition

The largest US real estate company Simon Property Group Inc (Simon) said yesterday that it has arranged £3 billion ($4.6 billion) funding for the proposed takeover of UK realty firm Capital Shopping Centres Plc (CSC), in its efforts to block CSC's plan to buy Manchester's Trafford Centre.

''Simon is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement on the financial terms of a £3- billion loan facility which would enable Simon to satisfy in full acceptances due under a firm offer for CSC,'' the company said in a statement.

The funding has been arranged by a consortium of banks led by Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.

Indianapolis-based Simon is a large S&P 500 real estate company, which owns around 393 properties including regional malls, several premium outlets, and community/lifestyle centres comprising 264 million square feet of leasable area in North America, Europe, and Asia.

The group employs around 5,000 people and reported $3.8 billion in revenues for 2009. Simon's stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

London-based CSC was formed through the demerger of Liberty International Plc earlier this year. The company owns 13 regional shopping centres with a space of around 14.1 million square feet, comprising four major out-of-town centres and nine in-town centres.