General Growth also owns Eden Prairie Center and Knollwood Mall. Ridgedale is anchored by Marshall Field's, Sears, JCPenney and a Marshall Field's Men's and Home store.

Columbia, MD-based Rouse has interest in 37 malls, including Boston's Faneuil Hall Marketplace, four community centers and six mixed-use projects with about 40 million sf. The Rouse properties have reported sales of $419 per sf, while General Growth has reported sales of $369 per sf, according to a report on the deal from Fitch Ratings service. The overall occupancy rate of the Rouse properties is 92%, according to General Growth.

The total deal is valued by debt agencies at $12.6 million because it includes $7.2 billion in cash and the assumption of $5.4 billion in debt. General Growth will own or manage a total of 215 malls and some 168 million sf after the deal is completed, according to Fitch. Indianapolis-based Simon Properties Group, which has an interest in Mall of America in Bloomington, Maplewood Mall in Maplewood and Miller Hill Mall in Duluth, operates 246 malls across the US and has some 192 million sf under management, according to Fitch.