Farallon Capital Management
, one of the world's largest hedge funds, has boosted its stake in troubled mall owner
Mills Corp.
(MLS)
.
The San Francisco-based hedge fund disclosed in a
Securities and Exchange Commission
filing Thursday that it now owns 4.39 million Mills shares, or 7.7% of the real estate investment trust's outstanding stock.
In late April, Farallon first reported owning 3.18 million shares of Mills, which is currently restating its financials and exploring a sale of the company.
Last week, Mills said it had received indicators of interest from several parties in response to its "exploration of strategic alternatives."
Farallon pursues a number of strategies, including credit investments, restructurings, value investing, and direct debt and equity investments.
The firm also is known for its real estate acumen, with a number of its managing members having previously worked at JMB Institutional Realty, a commercial real estate investor that was a particularly active property buyer in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Mills shares closed Thursday at $28.17, down 1.3%. The stock has plummeted since reaching a 52-week high of $66.44 last summer, though it has recovered somewhat from a 52-week low of $26.30 on April 7.
