CHICAGO-General Growth Properties Inc. enteredinto a definitive agreement with Pershing Square CapitalManagement LP affiliates to acquire Pershing's entire14.1% interest in the Brazilian Aliansce Shopping CentersSA. The deal is valued at $195.2 million, will increaseGGP's ownership stake to 45.6% and is slated for a Q3 2012closing.

According to a press release concerning the pending transaction,GGP will fund this acquisition with available cash resources.Aliansce is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro and focuses onownership, management and development of shopping centers inBrazil. Aliansce owns interests in 18 malls, three of which areunder development, totaling approximately 6.5 million square feetof gross leasable area. Sandeep Mathrani, ChiefExecutive Officer of GGP, and Shobi Khan, ChiefOperating Officer of GGP, are members of the Aliansce Board ofDirectors.

On August 13, 2012, Aliansce reported its regional mallportfolio was 98.2% occupied during the second quarter andgenerated same store sales growth of 10.1% over the same periodlast year, the 10th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Inaddition, net operating income and adjusted earnings beforeinterest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totaled R$75.9million and R$65.6 million in the second quarter, respectively,each representing an increase of 39.8% over the same period lastyear.