COLUMBUS, OH—WP Glimcher has successfully completed the formation of its JV with O'Connor Mall Partners, an affiliate of O'Connor Capital Partners, for five properties across the country.

Since February, when word of the JV was first announced, the $1.625-billion JV has been completed with WP Glimcher represented by Eastdil Secured, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz serving as the REIT's legal advisor. Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg served as legal advisor to O'Connor.

As a result of the transaction, O'Connor now has 49% interest in the joint venture, leaving WP Glimcher with 51% interest. The JV has awarded approximately $430 million of cash to WP Glimcher, as well as reducing WP Glimcher's debt levels of around $800 million.

“We look forward to our new business and financial relationship with W P Glimcher, and to our joint venture ownership of these five leading shopping center properties,” says Joel Bayer, CIO, O'Connor Capital Partners.

These benefits reflect the aggregate value of the properties, less the mortgages secured by such properties at closing, plus costs spent to date on Phase III development at Scottsdale Quarter—a property included in the venture—in Scottsdale, AZ.

The other four properties included in the JV are: the Mall at Johnson City in Johnson City, TN; Pearlridge Center in Aiea, HI; Polaris Fashion Place in Columbus, OH; Town Center Plaza (including the adjacent Town Center Crossing) in Leawood, KS. WP Glimcher will continue to lease and manage the properties. The new JV will also allow redevelopment costs associated with the properties to be a shared expense between the two companies.

WP Glimcher is using proceeds from the transaction to repay a portion of its bridge loan used to finance the acquisition of Glimcher Realty Trust in January 2015. The firm will repay the difference with proceeds from a new, five-year $500 million term loan, which is expected to close later this quarter.

Chairman of WP Glimcher, Mark Ordan, states, “We remain focused on maintaining a strong, investment grade balance sheet and this transaction is one example of how we are accomplishing that in the near-term.”

Additionally, WP Glimcher has also announced an upcoming management transition. Current executive chairman of the board, Ordan will move to serve as an active non-executive chairman of the board and provide consulting services to the company under a transition and consulting agreement. The move will be effective as of January 1, 2016.

The company expects further reduction in overhead related to its Bethesda, MD-based transition operations lead by Marc Richards, the company's chief administrative officer, who is expected to depart the company upon substantial completion of the integration.

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