General Growth refinances loans

Bloomberg

Growth is seeking extensions on $900 million of debt that matured last week, secured by two Las Vegas malls. "There can be no assurance that the company will obtain these further extensions," the statement said.

General Growth has lost 97 percent of its value this year on investor concern that it is overleveraged amid a global credit crisis that has decimated consumer spending and reduced real estate values. The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week soared to a 26-year high, the U.S. Labor Department said in a report last week.

General Growth’s problems stem from its $11.3 billion purchase of Rouse Co. in 2004, financed almost completely with debt. The company hired law firm Sidley Austin LLP as it seeks to refinance debt.

On Nov. 10, General Growth said the possibility that it may not be able to get new loans "raises substantial doubts as to our ability to continue as a going concern" and may force it to seek legal protection from creditors.