The end appears near for a renowned Michigan-based shopping mall developer and owner.
The Taubman Co. is preparing to shutter its Bloomfield Hills headquarters and lay off over 100 employees in the wake of its recent acquisition by Simon Property Group, the nation’s largest mall owner and operator.
A mass layoff notice published this week says the 105 layoffs will happen Jan. 9 and the company’s headquarters office at 200 East Long Lake Road will permanently close. The notice says the office closure plan follows a merger/acquisition and “transfer of operational control.”
On Nov. 3, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group announced that it had finalized the last step in its gradual acquisition of what was Taubman Centers, buying the remaining 12% of the Taubman company in exchange for 5 million limited partnership units in Simon.
The acquisition began in December 2020, when Simon purchased an 80% ownership stake in Taubman for $3.4 billion.
Taubman Centers was founded in 1950 by A. Alfred Taubman and developed and owned landmark shopping malls in Michigan and across the country, including Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor; Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn; Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi; Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights; Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids; Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills, and The Mall at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township.
The Taubman Co.’s portfolio appeared to be down to 22 mall properties at the time of the finalized Simon acquisition. Twelves Oaks Mall and Great Lakes Crossing are its last two Michigan malls.
David Simon, the chairman and CEO of Simon Property Group, said in a Nov. 3 news release that the Taubman acquisition “aligns with our strategy of owning high-quality assets, unlocking operational synergies and driving further innovation.”
He went on to thank Taubman executives Robert Taubman and William Taubman for “our successful partnership over the last five years.” Their father, A. Alfred Taubman, died in 2015 at age 91.
Robert Taubman, chairman and CEO of the Taubman Realty Group, was quoted in the same news release about the completion of the acquisition.
“I want to thank everyone at Taubman, present and past, for their contributions to our success over the 75 years since our founding by my father Alfred,” Robert Taubman said. “I also want to thank David and his team for our wonderful partnership over the past five years. With this transition, Billy and I look forward to being significant Simon shareholders for many years to come.”
A Simon Property Group representative did not immediately respond on Wednesday, Nov. 19, to an inquiry about the Taubman office closure and layoffs.
Taubman representatives also couldn’t be reached for comment, including during a reporter’s visit Wednesday morning to the Bloomfield Hills office building.
Taubman Centers once waged war to stop Simon Property Group from buying it in 2003. At the time, the Taubman family told the Simon group that their unsolicited bid wasn’t welcome and the company wasn’t for sale.
That hostile takeover attempt was scuttled when then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed changes to Michigan’s anti-takeover law — the Michigan Control Share Acquisitions Act — that allowed the family to block the all-cash offer by Simon and a partner, Westfield America Inc.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @JCReindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mall developer Taubman to permanently close, expects 100+ layoffs in metro Detroit
Reporting by JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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