Mall mashup: Washington Prime to buy Glimcher

Washington Prime Group Inc., which spun off from mall operator Simon Property Group earlier this year, said Tuesday that it is buying rival Glimcher Realty Trust. The cash-and-stock deal is worth about $2.06 billion.

The combined company will own 119 malls and shopping centers around the country.

After the deal closes, which is expected to happen in the first quarter of 2015, the company will change its name to WP Glimcher.

Washington Prime that it will pay $14.20 in cash and stock for each share of Glimcher, a 34 percent premium from its closing price of $10.59 Monday.

As part of the deal, Glimcher will sell two shopping centers to Simon Property Group Inc. for $1.09 billion. The two shopping centers being sold are Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and University Park Village in Fort Worth, Texas.

Washington Prime said the total deal with Glimcher is worth about $4.3 billion, including debt.

The new company will keep Washington Prime’s ticker symbol “WPG,” which trades on the New York Stock Exchange. WP Glimcher will be based at Glimcher’s headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. Washington Prime is based in Bethesda, Maryland.

In May, Simon Property spun off Washington Prime, which operates strip malls and smaller enclosed malls, so it can focus on bigger malls and premium outlets.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS