U.S. mall owner Washington Prime Group files for bankruptcy amidst COVID challenges
The Columbus-based company Washington Prime Group, a company that operates more than 100 malls across the U.S. has filed for bankruptcy Sunday.The group citing COVID-19 financial challenges is currently allowing shopping centers to stay open while the company works out its debt.
“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,” the company said.The Columbus-based company, which had once spun off of the largest mall owner Simon Property Group in 2014 has now faced many forced closures due to the pandemic making shopping centers struggle to pay rent.A
According to filings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Washington Prime’s stock is down 60% this year, and the company is nearly $1 billion in debt but it said it has secured $100 million in “debtor-in-possession financing” to keep operations afloat as court proceedings go forward as the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing will allow the company to stay in business while it works out a deal with creditors to pay off its debt.
“The company’s financial restructuring will enable Washington Prime to right size its balance sheet and position the company for success going forward. During the financial restructuring, we will continue to work toward maximizing the value of our assets and our operating infrastructure”,said CEO Lou Conforti in a press release- the company’s assets are estimated to range from $1 billion to $10 billion.
