General Growth Properties - History

History

The company was founded by two brothers, Martin and Matthew Bucksbaum, in 1954. That year, they opened their first shopping center, Town & Country Shopping Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1960, General Management opened its second center, Duck Creek Plaza in Bettendorf, Iowa; this was their first mall to have a department store (Younkers) as an anchor.

In 1970, General Management became General Growth Properties (GGP). Two years later GGP became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. However, by 1984, management felt that the company's stock price did not fully reflect the value of its business. So management decided to sell the company's assets and take the company private. GGP sold 19 malls to Equitable Real Estate in an $800 million deal – considered the largest single real estate transaction in the United States at that time – but continued to manage the malls as part of the deal. Ultimately, shareholders realized a 22% internal rate of return on their investment from the original initial public offering (IPO) through 1984. GGP issued another public offering in 1993 to raise money for future expansion plans. In 1995, GGP moved its headquarters from Des Moines, Iowa, to Chicago.

Starting in 1993, GGP expanded its portfolio dramatically by acquiring existing properties and constructing new malls. In 1995, it acquired Homart Development Company, the mall development subsidiary of Sears. On November 12, 2004, GGP acquired The Rouse Company, including its Howard Hughes Corporation land development subsidiary, in the largest retail real estate merger in American history. GGP grew to be the nation's second-largest mall operator.

Co-founder and CEO Martin Bucksbaum died in 1995. He was succeeded as CEO by Matthew Bucksbaum. Matthew retired in 1999, and was succeeded by his son John.