Macerich In Joint Venture In Colo. Mall

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — The operating partnership of Macerich Co., a real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, and a private equity firm announced Thursday a joint venture in a Colorado mall.

Under terms of the deal, the Macerich Partnership LP receives about $116 million in cash for FlatIron Crossing, a Broomfield, Colo., mall, and GI Partners, based in London and Menlo Park, Calif., acquires a 75 percent interest in the shopping center.

FlatIron Crossing is a 1.4 million-square-foot regional mall. Annual tenant sales were $443 per square foot last year, Macerich said. The mall, which has a 97 percent occupancy rate, was built in 2000 and acquired by Macerich in 2002.

Edward C. Coppola, president of Macerich, said the deal is "another example of Macerich executing on its deleveraging strategy" by tapping into capital in a high-performing retail property.

Shares rose 72 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close at $26.15.