The boards of both companies announced late yesterday that they had approved the sale, projected at $158.5 million, which will be financed by $51 million in cash, about 811,000 Macerich partnership units and the assumption of $77.5 million in property-level, fixed-rate debt.

The 24th Street and Camelback Road center--anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy's--was purchased for $115 million by Taubman in 1994, 11 years after it opened. The 31-acre shopping mall currently is 90% leased and produces $430 per sf in income. "This transaction is consistent with our goal of recycling capital to reinvest in our business," Robert S. Taubman, chairman, president and CEO of Taubman Centers, said in a statement released yesterday. "Clearly, Macerich is the logical and most strategic buyer." Neither Taubman nor Arthur Coppola, Macerich's president and CEO, could not be reached for further comment late yesterday.

The pending sale brings to 24 the number of Arizona shopping centers owned by Macerich, including five of the Valley's largest malls. The firm currently holds title to Desert Sky Mall, Paradise Valley Mall, both here; Scottsdale Fashion Square in Scottsdale; Superstition Springs in Mesa; and the Chandler Fashion Center in Chandler. The company, one of the largest owner-operators of regional malls in the US, owns 70 shopping centers, primarily in the country's western region. The Bloomfield Hill, MI-based Taubman Centers Inc. currently owns or manages 30 urban and suburban regional and super regional shopping centers in 13 states