Late Sunday evening, Washington Prime Group Inc., a mall owner with more than 100 shopping centers nationwide, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing the virus pandemic paralyzed their business, according to a company press release.
According to documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, the Ohio-based mall operator was spun off from the largest mall operator, Simon Property Group, in 2014. The bankrupted company currently has 102 malls and strip centers across the country.
Washington Prime will continue to operate after striking a restructuring deal with creditors, led by SVPGlobal, that holds about 73% of the company’s secured corporate debt and 67% of the principal amount outstanding of the company’s unsecured notes.
The company has assets at approximately $4 billion and debt of almost $3.5 billion, acquired a $100 million debtor-in-possession loan that will support operations in the intermediate term.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for many companies, including Washington Prime Group, making a Chapter 11 filing necessary to reduce the Company’s outstanding indebtedness,” Washington Prime Group wrote in a press release.
Several retailers, such as Christopher & Banks, Guitar Center, New York & Company, J.C. Penney, Stein Mart, Sur La Table, Ascena Retail Group, and Tuesday Morning, have filed for bankruptcies over the past year and resulted in store closings were primarily tenants at some of the mall operator’s properties. – READ MORE