Taubman Acquires Remaining 50% Interest in Dolphin Mall

MIAMI-Taubman Centers Inc., based in Bloomfield Hills, MI, which had owned half of the 1.3-million-sf Dolphin Mall here, has acquired the remaining 50% interest from Hollywood, FL-based Swerdlow Real Estate Group. The deal is worth $96.8 million. This price, which involved no cash, includes $94.5 million in debt assumed by Taubman Centers and $2.3 million in six acres of peripheral property to Swerdlow. The deal ends a legal dispute that had been brewing between the two companies since this summer.

In April 2001, Taubman’s $10-million investment in Swerdlow Real Estate Group was converted into a loan. On December 31, 2001, the note became delinquent, and in July, Taubman filed suit to recover funds due. This August, Swerdlow sued Taubman, alleging a breach of the partnership and seeking more than $40 million in damages. Under the newly forged deal, the companies agreed to drop their suits, and Swerdlow agreed to pay off the $10 million principal balance of the note.