Competition Continues For General Growth Properties
Post from the Wall Street Journal regarding the General Growth bankruptcy:
“The takeover battle for mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. reached a boiling point Wednesday as General Growth unveiled a deal with Canadian property investor Brookfield Asset Management Inc. even as Australian mall owner Westfield Group considered entering the fray.
Westfield, which owns 119 malls in the U.S., Australia and Britain, signed a nondisclosure agreement this week to begin discussions with General Growth about a possible offer, people familiar with the matter said.
Westfield has $8 billion of borrowing capacity on hand, and is thus far acting alone, these people said.
As Westfield deliberated, General Growth laid out a plan …”
General Growth Properties owns Galleria at Tyler in Riverside, Moreno Valley Mall, and Redlands Mall in the Inland area. A bankruptcy judge will consider all options for the hearing set for March 3.
Follow news about General Growth Properties at the Curtis Law Group Bankruptcy Blog.
General Growth restructures $9.7 billion in debt
General Growth, a Chicago based company, owns Tyler Galleria Mall of Riverside, Redlands Mall and the Moreno Valley Mall. General Growth has submitted their plan for Chapter 11 in hopes that 92 of their properties will not see a bankruptcy by the end of this year. A segment of the Associated Press article posted on SFGate is below:
“General Growth Properties Inc. said Wednesday lenders have agreed to restructure about $9.7 billion in debt under a plan that will allow 92 of its properties to emerge from bankruptcy protection by the end of the year. The nation’s second-largest mall operator will pay off loans that cover regional shopping centers, offices, community centers and related subsidiaries. The plan will allow the real estate investment trust to retain ownership of the properties, including the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu and the Harborplace & The Gallery in Baltimore.
The Chicago-based company expanded aggressively during the real estate boom, amassing $27 billion in debt. As the real estate market imploded and financing dried up, General Growth was unable to refinance its short-term loans and in April became the largest U.S. real estate company to file for bankruptcy.”
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings, September 2009
Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in the Riverside County Bankruptcy Courthouse for September, according to research done by a leading bankruptcy law firm, continue to trend upward in 2009.
The cities with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcies in Riverside County and San Bernardino County for September did not change from the top-ten in August:
Corona, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Victorville.
Bankruptcy attorneys in the Inland Empire are also noticing a high number of filings from bankruptcy debtors residing in Chino, Chino Hills, Hemet, Hesperia, and Lake Elsinore.
Chapter 7 Bankrutpcy Filings For August 2009
Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in the Riverside County Bankruptcy Courthouse for August 2009 reveal that the top ten cities in Riverside and San Bernardino County with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcies were:
Corona, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Victorville.
Bankruptcy attorneys from Riverside and San Bernardino County are also witnessing a high number of filings from debtors residing in Chino, Chino Hills, Hemet, and Hesperia.
Bankruptcy For Riverside Golf Club Closes Down Establishment Beloved By Locals
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy has led a beloved local Golf Club in Riverside to close it’s doors.
From the Press-Enterprise, online:
“The Riverside Golf Club closed for good Wednesday, still owing the city more than $300,000 and holding thousands more belonging to a couple who had poured their life savings into a wedding they had planned there for Saturday.
The closure of the club, at least a half-century old, also sent other patrons scrambling to find alternate links to play and conference rooms to meet in.
Howsmith Corporation, which leases the property from Riverside Public Utilities, has been in arrears since November 2006 and owes $334,000, said City Councilman Mike Gardner, whose Ward 1 includes the club. “I’m surprised,” he said. “I had no idea this was coming.”
Howsmith filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Aug. 14, according to the bankruptcy document. A Web site lists Jacklyn Smith as the president of the Riverside company founded in 1979. No one answered at the phone number listed at the same address as the Riverside Golf Club.
Wednesday, John Lee Brown and Dimitra Kelly stood outside the locked gates of the parking lot of the shuttered clubhouse and banquet hall at 1011 N. Orange St.
They’d invited 100 guests to their wedding Saturday.
“This is a tragedy,” said Kelly, 40, who said they’d sunk $8,000 into the kaput celebration. “We had our rehearsal dinner there last Friday. They just faxed me the seating arrangement yesterday.”
Christopher R. Barclay, a trustee for Howsmith Corporation, was on the premises Wednesday. He refused to comment and ordered a reporter to leave. Rancho Cucamonga-based Dennis Baranowski, the corporation’s attorney, could not be reached.
“It’s a shame it’s closing,” said Jerry Seinturier, 56, who remembers the golf course from the 1950s. He plays in the golf league at Bourns Inc. where he works, but learned Wednesday morning that their evening round and banquet had been canceled. The greens had withered to browns over the past two years, he said, but the price was right: $10 for walkers, $15 for riders. “I have no idea where we’ll play now,” Seinturier said.
That leaves only one other 18-hole municipal golf course in Riverside, Sky Links at Van Buren Boulevard. The other city-owned course, at Fairmount Park, is nine holes.
Ken Truelock was shocked to learn that the golf clubhouse was closed for Wednesday’s noon meeting of the Magnolia Center Exchange Club, a service group. “We had a board meeting here yesterday,” he said. “I’m disappointed.”
But Kelly and Brown, who’ve been together eight years and have four children, were crushed. They paid the $837 balance several days ago on the $3,000 owed for the rental hall and appetizers.
Plus, they’ve shelled out another $5,000 for the disc jockey, photographer, flowers, minister, decorations, wedding gown, tuxedo and bridesmaids’ jewelry.
Kelly and Brown said Barclay told them to file a claim.
“We’re depleted,” said Kelly, tears running down her cheeks. “I’m extremely upset and embarrassed. We’ve got all this out-of-state family coming.”
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings in Riverside & San Bernardino Counties, July 2009
Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in Riverside County and San Bernardino County for July 2009 were most numerous in the following ten Inland Empire cities:
Corona, Fontana, Hemet, Moreno Valley, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Victorville. Hesperia also had a high number of Chapter 7 bankruptcies filed, as did Murrieta.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, also known as “fresh start” bankruptcy by bankruptcy attorneys, helps debtors get out from under large amounts of debt by discharging most debts owed to creditors.
Most Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing Cities in Inland Empire, June 2009
For bankruptcy attorneys in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, there was no shortage of Chapter 7 bankruptcies to be filed in June, 2009. And for the second month in a row, the top ten cities in the Inland Empire with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings has remained the same.
The ten cities with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in the Inland Empire for the month of June 2009 were: Corona, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Victorville. Other Inland Empire cities that also had a high number include: Hemet, Hesperia, Lake Elsinore, and Rialto.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings in Inland Empire, May 2009
For bankruptcy attorneys in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, there was no shortage of Chapter 7 bankruptcies to be filed in May, 2009.
The ten cities with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in the Inland Empire for the month of May 2009 were: Corona, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Victorville. Other Inland Empire cities that also had a high number include: Hesperia, Perris, and Rialto.
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filed By GM
Attention, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, your favorite GM dealership might not be around in a few months. Today, GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and is expected to close a number of dealerships over the course of its restructuring, which is estimated to take 2-3 months. GM dealerships in the Inland Empire include those in the cities of: Corona, Hemet, Moreno Valley, Redlands, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Victorville.
From the Los Angeles Times online:
President Obama said that pushing General Motors Corp. into bankruptcy today was a painful but necessary step to revive the legendary automaker, saving thousands of jobs and avoiding another direct hit to the struggling economy.
“‘Working with my auto task force, GM and its stakeholders have produced a viable, achievable plan that will give this iconic American company a chance to rise again,’ Obama said at the White House just hours after the company filed for bankruptcy protection this morning in a Manhattan courtroom…
‘Simply loaning GM more money, instead of taking equity in the company, would have continued to saddle GM with ‘irresponsibly large debt,’ the reason the company is in its current dire position, Obama said.
‘We are acting as reluctant shareholders because that is the only way to help GM to succeed,’ he said. ‘What we are not doing, what I have no interest in doing, is run GM.’”
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Bankruptcy Bill DEFEATED in Senate, 51-45
The bankruptcy “cramdown” legislation that the Obama administration hoped would be a key part of its foreclosure prevention plan was defeated in the Senate on Thursday. Bankruptcy attorneys in Riverside and San Bernardino County had hoped that this bill would pass and provide relief for their bankruptcy clients, especially those underwater on their homes, but will now have to wait indefinitely for legislative help.
From CNN online:
“The Obama administration lost a bid to add a powerful weapon in its fight against foreclosure Thursday, after the Senate voted down a proposal to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages.
The defeat left many housing advocates questioning the effectiveness of the president’s loan modification plan. The so-called cramdown provision, which would allow judges to reduce mortgage principal, would have put pressure on servicers to modify loans before borrowers file for bankruptcy.
The financial industry lobbied hard against the bill, arguing that letting judges change mortgage contracts would add instability to the market and raise interest rates. Senate Republicans and some moderate Democrats were concerned about the bill’s impact and about the growing resentment among homeowners in good standing.
The bill was defeated by a 51-45 vote. The House had passed similar legislation last month.”
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