LONDON-Locally-based Capital Shopping Group, having today turneddown a $6.66 per share informal takeover bid fromIndianapolis-based Simon Property Group, did make a smallconcession to the US-based mall REIT. The CSC board meetingto approvethe $1.2 billion purchase of the local Trafford CentreMall, which investor Simon opposes, has been postponeduntil January.

Simon, a 5.6% owner in CSC, said in a letter to the local firmthat the price for the 1.9 million square foot mall is too great,and has threatened to sell its stock if the purchase is made.Similar to a poker-hand showdown, board chairman and CEO DavidSimon has sent letters both asking for the sale to stop, and, todayoffered the non-binding takeover bid – in an apparent attempt tosee if the CSC board will back off of the Trafford sale.

The board did blink, somewhat. Though the company issued astatement rejecting the Simon offer as too low for a company thatowns 13 regional shopping centers in the United Kingdom, CSC agreedto move the Trafford approval from its planned Dec. 20extraordinary general to next month. “The date of the adjourned EGMis now expected to be in late January 2011, ahead of the long stopdate under the Trafford Centre acquisition of Jan. 31. Unless Simonprovides to CSC, in advance of the adjourned EGM date, a firmproposal that the board would be willing to recommend, the boardexpects to continue to recommend the Trafford Centre acquisition,”said CSC in a statement today. Shares of the company closed at$6.20 Tuesday.