Simon Property in deal to buy developer

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Mall operator Simon Property Group Inc. and hedge fund Farallon Capital Management said Friday they will buy the struggling mall developer The Mills Corp. for 1.64 billion after outbidding rival Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
Mills has 38 malls nationwide, many of them massive regional shopping centers such as Potomac Mills in Virginia, Arundel Mills near Annapolis and Sawgrass Mills in Florida. But it has struggled in recent years after a decade of rapid growth.
Simon and Farallon offered 25.25 per share in cash for Chevy Chase-based Mills, higher than the 1.56 billion, or 24 per share, tender the partnership made earlier this month.
Mills said Friday it has terminated a previous 1.35 billion, 21 per share agreement it reached in January with Brookfield, a Canadian conglomerate.
Mills said Tuesday that it favored the higher Simon-Farallon proposal, but gave Brookfield three days come up with a better deal.
A spokeswoman for the Toronto-based Brookfield did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
Many Wall Street analysts believed Indianapolis-based Simon, the nation's largest mall operator, was a better fit for Mills than Brookfield, which owns timber, power and commercial real estate but has no retail presence in North America.