Mall giant Simon drops hostile bid to buy Macerich

US mall giant Simon Property late Tuesday ended a hostile campaign for rival Macerich after Macerich rejected the latest takeover offer.
Simon said it was pulling the campaign "in light of the Macerich board of directors not to engage in discussions with Simon."
Earlier, Macerich said that Simon's offer of $95.50 per share "continues to substantially undervalue Macerich" and that pursuing a deal "is not in the best interests of Macerich and its stockholders."
"Simon's proposal has shined a bright light on the value of Macerich and our unparallelled collection of assets in the most desireable and highest barrier-to-entry markets," said Macerich chief executive Arthur Coppola.
Simon on March 20 raised its bid for Macerich by five percent after an initial bid was rejected.
Calling the Simon proposal "coercive," Macerich also enacted a series of measures to block Simon from buying a controlling stake in the company or influencing the board.
The second bid valued Macerich at $23.2 billion, including debt.
A deal would have strengthened Simon as the country's largest owner and operator of shopping centers. Simon has about 182 million square feet (17 million square meters) of leasable space in 109 properties, while Macerich holds 55 million square feet in about 60 properties.
Simon owns the Premium Outlets and Mills chains of suburban malls. It also owns 18.3 percent of France's retail property power Klepierre. Macerich's mall properties are mainly in California, Arizona and the New York region.
In early trade, Macerich fell 5.3 percent to $79.78 in pre-market trade, while Simon rose 0.1 percent to $195.81.