General Growth Properties Inc (GGP) SEC Annual Report (10-K) for 2017

Washington, D.C. 20549

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017

or

For the transition period from                                  to                        

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 1-34948

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(312) 960-5000

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: 6.375% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes  ý     No  o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes  o     No  ý

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes  ý     No  o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes  ý     No  o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes  o     No  ý

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all reports required to be filed by section 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.  Yes  ý     No  o

On June 30, 2017 , the last business day of the most recently completed second quarter of the registrant, the aggregate market value of the shares of common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $14.7 billion based upon the closing price of the common stock on such date.

As of February 19, 2018 , there were 957,017,459  shares of the registrant's common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the proxy statement for the annual stockholders meeting to be held on June 19, 2018 are incorporated by reference into Part III.

GGP INC.

Annual Report on Form 10-K

December 31, 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

ITEM 1.    BUSINESS

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements of GGP Inc. ("GGP" or the "Company") and related notes, as included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this "Annual Report"). The terms "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to GGP and its subsidiaries. GGP, a Delaware corporation, was organized in July 2010 and is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, referred to as a "REIT".

Our Company and Strategy

GGP is a real estate company. Our primary business is owning and operating best-in-class retail properties that provide an outstanding environment and experience for our communities, retailers, employees, consumers and stockholders. We are an S&P 500 real estate company with a property portfolio comprised primarily of Class A retail properties (defined primarily by sales per square foot during 2017). GGP Inc. defines best-in-class retail and modern luxury through curated merchandising and elegant culinary experiences set against the backdrop of refined ambiance across this distinguished collection of destinations. Our retail properties are the core centers of retail, dining, and entertainment within their trade areas and, therefore, represent hubs of daily life. As of December 31, 2017 , we own, either entirely or with joint venture partners, 125 retail properties located throughout the United States comprising approximately 122 million square feet of gross leasable area ("GLA").

Our portfolio generated total comparable tenant sales (all less anchors) of $21.0 billion and comparable tenant sales (<10,000 square feet) of $587 per square foot during 2017 . We have 75 Class A retail properties reporting tenant sales (all less anchors) of $16.5 billion and tenant sales (<10,000 square feet) of $ 705 per square foot that contribute approximately 74% of our share of Company net operating income ("Company NOI" as defined in Item 7 ). The quality of our portfolio is further summarized in the table below which indicates the 75 Class A retail properties and their contribution to our 2017 share of Company NOI. Sales (all less anchors) is presented as total sales volume in millions of dollars and sales (<10,000 sq ft) is presented as sales per square foot in dollars.

Our long-term earnings growth is driven by:

We have identified approximately $1.5 billion of income producing development and redevelopment projects within our portfolio, over 80% of which is being invested into Class A retail properties.

We believe our long-term strategy can provide our stockholders with a competitive risk-adjusted total return comprised of dividends and share price appreciation.

Transactions and Highlights

During 2017 , the following achievements promoted our long-term strategy as summarized below (figures shown represent our proportionate share):

Segments

We operate in a single reportable segment, which includes the operation, development and management of retail and other rental properties. Our portfolio is targeted to a range of market sizes and consumer tastes. Each of our operating properties is considered a separate operating segment, as each property earns revenues and incurs expenses, individual operating results are reviewed and discrete financial information is available. The Company's chief operating decision maker is comprised of a team of several members of executive management who use Company NOI in assessing segment operating performance. We do not distinguish or group our consolidated operations based on geography, size or type for purposes of making property operating decisions. Our operating properties have similar economic characteristics and provide similar products and services to our tenants. There are no individual operating segments that are greater than 10% of combined revenue, Company NOI or combined assets. Company NOI excludes certain non-cash and non-comparable items such as straight-line rent, depreciation expense and intangible asset and liability amortization, which are a result of our emergence, acquisition accounting and other capital contribution or restructuring events. Further, all material operations are within the United States and no customer or tenant comprises more than 10% of consolidated revenues. As a result, the Company's operating properties are aggregated into a single reportable segment.

For the year ended December 31, 2017 , our largest tenant, L Brands, Inc. (based on common parent ownership), accounted for approximately 3.7% of rents. Our three largest tenants, L Brands, Inc., Foot Locker, Inc., and The Gap, Inc., in aggregate, comprised approximately 9.2% of rents.

Competition

In order to maintain and increase our competitive position within a marketplace we:

We believe the high-quality nature of our properties enables us to compete effectively for retailers and consumers.

Environmental Matters

Under various federal, state or local laws, ordinances and regulations, an owner of real estate may be liable for the costs of remediation of certain hazardous or toxic substances on such real estate. These laws may impose liability without regard to whether the owner knew of the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. The costs of remediation may be substantial and may adversely affect the owner's ability to sell or borrow against such real estate as collateral. In connection with the ownership and operation of our properties, we, or the relevant joint venture through which the property is owned, may be liable for such costs.

Substantially all of our properties have been subject to a Phase I environmental site assessment, which is intended to evaluate the environmental condition of the subject property and its surroundings. Phase I environmental assessments typically include a historical review, a public records review, a site visit and interviews, but do not include sampling or subsurface investigations.

As of December 31, 2017 , the Phase I environmental site assessments have not revealed any environmental conditions that would have a material adverse effect on our overall business, financial condition or results of operations. However, it is possible that these assessments do not reveal all potential environmental liabilities or that conditions have changed since the assessment was prepared (typically, at the time the property was purchased or developed).

See Risk Factors regarding additional discussion of environmental matters.

Other Policies

The following is a discussion of our investment policies, financing policies, conflict of interest policies and policies with respect to certain other activities. One or more of these policies may be amended or rescinded from time to time without a stockholder vote.

Investment Policies

The Company elected to be treated as a REIT commencing with the taxable year beginning July 1, 2010, its date of incorporation. REIT limitations restrict us from making investments that would cause our real estate assets to be less than 75% of our total assets. In addition, at least 75% of our gross income must be derived directly or indirectly from investments relating to real property or mortgages on real property, including "rents from real property", dividends from other REITs and, in certain circumstances, interest from certain types of temporary investments. At least 95% of our income must be derived from such real property investments, and from dividends, interest and gains from the sale or dispositions of stock or securities or from other combinations of the foregoing.

Subject to REIT limitations, we may invest in the securities of other issuers in connection with acquisitions of indirect interests in real estate. Such an investment would normally be in the form of a general or limited partnership or membership interests in special purpose partnerships and limited liability companies that own one or more properties. We may, in the future, acquire all or substantially all of the securities or assets of other REITs, management companies or similar entities where such investments would be consistent with our investment policies.

Financing Policies

We do not have a policy limiting the number or amount of mortgages that may be placed on any particular property. We generally seek to finance individual properties on a secured basis and ladder our maturities. Mortgage financing instruments usually limit additional indebtedness on those properties. Typically, we invest in or form separate legal entities to assist us in obtaining permanent financing at attractive terms. Permanent financing may be structured as a mortgage loan on a single property, or on a group of properties, and generally requires us to provide a mortgage interest on the property in favor of an institutional third party or as a securitized financing. These legal entities are structured so that they would not necessarily be consolidated in the event we became

subject to a bankruptcy proceeding or liquidation. We decide upon the structure of the financing based upon the best terms available to us and whether the proposed financing is consistent with our other business objectives. We seek to minimize corporate recourse and cross collateralization and generally adhere to investment grade secured debt levels. We include the outstanding securitized debt of legal entities owning consolidated properties as part of our consolidated indebtedness.

We are party to a revolving credit facility that requires us to satisfy certain affirmative and negative covenants and to meet financial ratios and tests, which may include ratios and tests based on leverage, interest coverage and net worth.

If our Board of Directors determines to seek additional capital, we may raise that capital through additional public equity or preferred equity offerings, public debt offerings, debt financing, by creating joint ventures with existing ownership interests in properties or a combination of these methods. Our ability to retain cash flow is limited by the requirement for REITs to distribute at least 90% of their taxable income. We are also subject to federal income tax to the extent we distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, including capital gains.

If our Board of Directors determines to raise additional equity capital, it may, without stockholder approval, issue additional shares of common stock or other capital stock. The Board of Directors may issue a number of shares up to the amount of our authorized capital in any manner and on such terms and for such consideration as it deems appropriate. Such securities may be senior to the outstanding classes of common stock. Such securities also may include additional classes of preferred stock, which may be convertible into common stock. Any such offering could dilute a stockholder's investment in us. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (including certain of its affiliates, "Brookfield") has preemptive rights to purchase our common stock as necessary to allow it to maintain its proportional ownership interest in GGP on a fully diluted basis.

We have a dividend reinvestment plan ("DRIP"). We may determine to pay dividends in a combination of cash and shares of common stock.

Conflict of Interest Policies

We maintain policies and have entered into agreements designed to reduce or eliminate potential conflicts of interest. We have adopted governance principles governing our affairs and the Board of Directors, as well as written charters for each of the standing committees of the Board of Directors. In addition, we have a Code of Conduct that applies to all of our officers, directors, and employees. At least a majority of the members of our Board of Directors must qualify as independent under the listing standards for NYSE companies. Any transaction between us and any director, officer or 5% stockholder must be approved pursuant to our Related Party Transaction Policy (available on the Corporate Governance page of our website at www.ggp.com), including such transactions with Brookfield (as defined above), our largest stockholder.

Policies With Respect To Certain Other Activities

We intend to make investments that are consistent with our qualification as a REIT, unless the Board of Directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to qualify as a REIT. We have authority to offer shares of our common stock or other securities in exchange for property. We also have authority to repurchase or otherwise reacquire our shares or any other securities. We may issue shares of our common stock, or cash at our option, to holders of units of limited partnership interest in the Operating Partnerships (as defined in Note 1 ) in future periods upon exercise of such holders' rights under the Operating Partnerships' agreements. Our policy prohibits us from making any loans to our directors or executive officers for any purpose. We may make loans to the joint ventures in which we participate.

Employees

As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately 1,700 employees.

Insurance

We have comprehensive liability, property and rental loss insurance with respect to our portfolio of properties. We believe that such insurance provides adequate coverage.

Qualification as a REIT

The Company intends to maintain REIT status, and therefore our operations generally will not be subject to federal income tax on real estate investment trust taxable income. A schedule detailing the taxability of dividends for 2017 , 2016 and 2015 has been presented in Note 10 .

Available Information

Our Internet website address is www.ggp.com. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Interactive Data Files, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports are available and may be accessed free of charge through the Investors section of our Internet website under the Financial Information subsection, as soon as reasonably practicable after those documents are filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Our Internet website and included or linked information on the website are not intended to be incorporated into this Annual Report. Additionally, the public may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549, and may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, which can be accessed at http://www.sec.gov.

ITEM 1A.    RISK FACTORS

Business Risks

Our revenues and available cash are subject to conditions affecting the retail sector

Our real property investments are influenced by the retail sector, which may be negatively impacted by increased unemployment, increased federal income and payroll taxes, increased health care costs, increased state and local taxes, increased real estate taxes, industry slowdowns, lack of availability of consumer credit, weak income growth, increased levels of consumer debt, poor housing market conditions, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, plant closings, and other factors. Similarly, local real estate conditions, such as an oversupply of, or a reduction in demand for, retail space or retail goods, and the supply and creditworthiness of current and prospective tenants may negatively impact our properties.

Given these economic conditions, we believe there is a risk that the sales at stores operating in our properties may be adversely affected, which may cause tenants to be unable to pay their rental obligations. Because substantially all of our income is derived from rentals of real property, our income and available cash would be adversely affected if a significant number of tenants are unable to meet their obligations.

We may be unable to lease space in our properties on favorable terms or at all

Our results of operations depend on our ability to continue to lease space in our properties, including vacant space and re-leasing space in properties where leases are expiring, optimizing our tenant mix, or leasing properties on economically favorable terms. Because approximately 6% to 12% of our total leases expire annually based on expiring GLA, we are continually focused on leasing our properties. Similarly, we are pursuing a strategy of replacing expiring short-term leases with long-term leases.

The bankruptcy or store closures of national tenants, which are tenants with chains of stores in many of our properties, may adversely affect our revenues

Our leases generally contain provisions designed to ensure the creditworthiness of the tenant. However, companies in the retail industry, including some of our tenants, have declared bankruptcy, or from time to time, have voluntarily closed certain of their stores. We may be unable to re-lease such space or to re-lease it on comparable or more favorable terms. As a result, the bankruptcy or closure of a national tenant may adversely affect our revenues. In addition, such closings may allow other tenants to modify their leases to terms that are less favorable for us, also adversely impacting our revenues. For example, certain of our lease agreements include a co-tenancy provision that allows the tenant to pay a reduced rent amount and, in certain instances, terminate the lease, if we fail to maintain certain occupancy levels or if specific anchor tenants are no longer at the property. Therefore, if occupancy or tenancy falls below certain thresholds, rents we are entitled to receive from our retail tenants could be reduced.

It may be difficult to sell real estate quickly, and transfer restrictions apply to some of our properties

Real estate investments are relatively illiquid, which may limit our ability to strategically change our portfolio promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions. If revenues from a property decline but the related expenses do not, the income and cash available to us would be adversely affected. If it becomes necessary or desirable for us to dispose of one or more of our mortgaged properties, we may not be able to obtain a release of the lien on the mortgaged property without payment of the associated debt. The foreclosure of a mortgage on a property or inability to sell a property could adversely affect the level of cash available to us.

Our business is dependent on perceptions by retailers and shoppers of the convenience and attractiveness of our retail properties, and our inability to maintain a positive perception may adversely affect our revenues

We are dependent on perceptions by retailers or shoppers of the safety, convenience and attractiveness of our retail properties. If retailers and shoppers perceive competing retail properties and other retailing options such as the Internet to be more convenient or of a higher quality, our revenues may be adversely affected.

We develop, expand and acquire properties and these activities are subject to risks due to economic factors

Capital investment to expand or develop properties is anticipated to be an ongoing part of our strategy. In connection with such projects, we will be subject to various risks, which may result in lower than expected returns or a loss. These risks include the following:

Newly acquired properties may not perform as expected, such as not realizing expected occupancy and rental rates. In addition, we may have unexpected costs and may be unable to finance or refinance the new properties at acceptable terms. If an acquisition is not successful, we may have a loss on our investment in the property.

We are in a competitive business

There are numerous retail formats that compete with our properties in attracting retailers to lease space. In addition, retailers at our properties face continued competition from retailers at other malls, lifestyle and power centers, outlet malls and other discount shopping centers, discount shopping clubs, Internet sales, catalog companies, and telemarketing. Competition of these types could adversely affect our revenues and cash flows.

We compete with other major real estate investors with significant capital for attractive investment opportunities. These competitors include REITs, public and private financial institutions, and private institutional investors.

Our ability to realize our strategies and capitalize on our competitive strengths are dependent on our ability to effectively operate a large portfolio of high quality properties, maintain good relationships with our tenants and consumers, and remain well-capitalized. Our failure to do any of the foregoing could affect our ability to compete effectively in the markets in which we operate.

Some of our properties are subject to potential natural or other disasters

A number of our properties are located in areas that are subject to natural or other disasters, including hurricanes, flooding and earthquakes. Furthermore, many of our properties are located in coastal regions, and would therefore be affected by any future increases in sea levels. For example, certain of our properties are located in California and Hawaii or in other areas with a higher risk of natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis.

Possible terrorist activity or other acts or threats of violence and threats to public safety could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations

Terrorist attacks and threats of terrorist attacks in the United States or other acts or threats of violence may result in declining economic activity, which could harm the demand for goods and services offered by our tenants and the value of our properties and might adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities. Such a resulting decrease in retail demand could make it difficult for us to renew or re-lease our properties.

Terrorist activities or violence also could directly affect the value of our properties through damage, destruction or loss, and the availability of insurance for such acts, or of insurance generally, might be reduced or cost more, which could increase our operating

expenses and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. To the extent that our tenants are affected by such attacks and threats of attacks, their businesses similarly could be adversely affected, including their ability to continue to meet obligations under their existing leases. These acts and threats might erode business and consumer confidence and spending and might result in increased volatility in national and international financial markets and economies. Any one of these events might decrease demand for real estate, decrease or delay the occupancy of our new or redeveloped properties, and limit our access to capital or increase our cost of raising capital.

Information technology failures and data security breaches could harm our business

We use information technology, digital telecommunications and other computer resources to carry out important operational activities and to maintain our business records. Many of these resources are provided to us and/or maintained on our behalf by third-party service providers pursuant to agreements that specify to varying degrees certain security and service level standards. Although we and our service providers employ what we believe are adequate security, disaster recovery and other preventative and corrective measures, our ability to conduct our business may be impaired if these resources are compromised, degraded, damaged or fail, whether due to a virus or other harmful circumstance, intentional penetration or disruption of our information technology resources by a third party, natural disaster, hardware or software corruption or failure or error or poor product or vendor/developer selection (including a failure of security controls incorporated into or applied to such hardware or software), telecommunications system failure, service provider error or failure, intentional or unintentional personnel actions (including the failure to follow our security protocols), or lost connectivity to our networked resources.

A significant and extended disruption in the functioning of these resources, including our primary website, could damage our reputation and cause us to lose customers, tenants, revenues, result in the unintended and/or unauthorized public disclosure or the misappropriation of proprietary, personal identifying and confidential information, and require us to incur significant expenses to address and remediate or otherwise resolve these kinds of issues, expenses that we may not be able to recover in whole or in any part from our service providers or responsible parties, or their or our insurers.

We may incur costs to comply with environmental laws

Under various federal, state or local laws, ordinances and regulations, a current or previous owner or operator of real estate may be required to investigate and clean up hazardous or toxic substances released at a property, and may be held liable to third parties for bodily injury or property damage (investigation and/or clean-up costs) incurred by the parties in connection with the contamination. These laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of the release of the hazardous or toxic substances. The presence of contamination or the failure to remediate contamination may adversely affect the owner's ability to sell, lease or borrow with respect to the real estate. Other federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations require abatement or removal of asbestos-containing materials in the event of demolition or certain renovations or remodeling, the cost of which may be substantial for certain redevelopments, and also govern emissions of and exposure to asbestos fibers in the air. Federal, state and local laws also regulate the operation and removal of underground storage tanks. In connection with the ownership, operation and management of certain properties, we could be held liable for the costs of remedial action with respect to these regulated substances or tanks or related claims.

Our properties have been subjected to varying degrees of environmental assessment at various times. Phase I environmental site assessments have not revealed any environmental conditions that would have a material adverse effect on our overall business, financial condition or results of operations. It is possible that these assessments do not reveal all potential environmental liabilities or that conditions have changed since the assessment was prepared (typically, at the time the property was purchased or developed).

However, the identification of new areas of contamination, a change in the extent or known scope of contamination or changes in cleanup requirements could result in significant costs to us.

Some potential losses are not insured

We carry comprehensive liability, fire, flood, earthquake, terrorism, extended coverage and rental loss and environmental insurance on all of our properties. We believe the policy specifications and insured limits of these policies are adequate and appropriate. There are, however, some types of losses, including lease and other contract claims, and certain environmental conditions not discovered within the applicable policy period, which generally are not insured. If an uninsured loss or a loss in excess of insured limits occurs, we could lose all or a portion of the capital we have invested in a property, as well as the anticipated future revenue from the property. If this happens, we might nevertheless remain obligated for any mortgage debt or other financial obligations related to the property.

Inflation or deflation may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations

Should the general price level increase in the future, this may have an impact on our consumers' disposable income. This may place pressure on retailer sales and margins as their costs rise and they may be unable to pass the costs along to the consumer, which in turn may affect their ability to pay rents and which could adversely impact our cash flow. Many but not all of our leases have fixed amounts for recoveries and if our costs rise we may not be able to pass these costs on to our tenants. Rising costs may also impact our ability to generate cash flows.

Inflation also poses a risk to us due to the possibility of future increases in interest rates. Such increases would result in higher interest rates on new fixed-rate debt and adversely impact us due to our outstanding variable rate debt. From time to time, we manage our exposure to interest rate fluctuations related to a portion of our variable-rate debt using interest rate cap, swap and treasury lock agreements. Such agreements allow us to replace variable-rate debt with fixed-rate debt. However, our efforts to manage risks associated with interest rate volatility may not be successful. Additionally, interest rate cap, swap and treasury-lock agreements expose us to additional risks, including that the counterparties to the agreements might not perform their obligations. We also might be subject to additional costs, such as transaction fees or breakage costs, if we terminate these agreements.

Deflation may have an impact on our ability to repay our debt. Deflation may put pressure on our tenants' profit margins or delay consumption and thus weaken tenant sales, which may reduce our tenants' ability to pay rents. Deflationary pressure on retailers may diminish their ability to rent our space and decrease our ability to re-lease the space on favorable terms to us.

Organizational Risks

We are a holding company with no operations of our own and will depend on our subsidiaries for cash

Our operations are conducted almost entirely through our subsidiaries. Our ability to make dividends or distributions in connection with being a REIT is highly dependent on the earnings of and the receipt of funds from our subsidiaries through dividends or distributions, and our ability to generate cash to meet our debt service obligations is further limited by our subsidiaries' ability to make such dividends, distributions or intercompany loans. Our subsidiaries' ability to pay any dividends or distributions to us are limited by their obligations to satisfy their own obligations to their creditors and preferred stockholders before making any dividends or distributions to us.

Delaware law imposes requirements that could further restrict our ability to pay dividends to holders of our common stock.

We share control of some of our properties with other investors and may have conflicts of interest with those investors

For the Unconsolidated Properties (as defined in Note 1 ), we are required to make decisions with the other investors who have interests in the respective property or properties. For example, the approval of certain of the other investors is required with respect to operating budgets and refinancing, encumbering, expanding or selling any of these properties, to make distributions, as well as to bankruptcy decisions related to the Unconsolidated Properties and related joint ventures. We might not have the same interests as the other investors in relation to these transactions. Accordingly, we might not be able to favorably resolve any of these issues, or we might have to provide financial or other inducements to the other investors to obtain a favorable resolution.

In addition, various restrictive provisions and rights apply to sales or transfers of interests in our jointly owned properties. As such, we might be required to make decisions about buying or selling interests in a property or properties at a time that is not desirable.

Bankruptcy of our joint venture partners could impose delays and costs on us with respect to the jointly owned retail properties

The bankruptcy of one of the other investors in any of our jointly owned properties could materially and adversely affect the respective property or properties. Pursuant to the Bankruptcy Code, we would be precluded from taking some actions affecting the estate of the other investor without prior court approval which would, in most cases, entail prior notice to other parties and a hearing. At a minimum, the requirement to obtain court approval may delay the actions we would or might want to take. If the relevant joint venture through which we have invested in a property has incurred recourse obligations, the discharge in bankruptcy of one of the other investors might result in our ultimate liability for a greater portion of those obligations than would otherwise be required.

We are impacted by tax-related obligations to some of our partners

We own certain properties through partnerships that have arrangements in place that protect the deferred tax situation of our existing third party limited partners. Violation of these arrangements could impose costs on us. As a result, we may be restricted with respect to decisions such as financing, encumbering, expanding or selling these properties.

Several of our joint venture partners are tax-exempt. As such, they are taxable to the extent of their share of unrelated business taxable income generated from these jointly owned properties. As the manager of these joint ventures, we have obligations to avoid the creation of unrelated business taxable income at these properties. As a result, we may be restricted with respect to decisions related to the financing of and revenue generation from these properties.

We provide financial support for a number of joint venture partners

We provide secured financing to some of our joint venture partners. As of December 31, 2017 , we have provided venture partners loans of $384.5 million (of which $382.5 million is secured by the respective partnership interests). A default by a joint venture partner under their debt obligation may result in a loss.

We may not be able to maintain our status as a REIT

We have elected to be treated as a REIT in connection with the filing of our tax return for 2010, retroactive to July 1, 2010. It is possible that we may not meet the conditions for continued qualification as a REIT and that the cost of maintaining REIT status might have a material impact on the Company. In addition, once an entity is qualified as a REIT, the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") generally requires that such entity distribute at least 90% of its taxable ordinary income to stockholders and pay tax on or distribute 100% of its taxable capital gains. We expect to distribute 100% of our taxable capital gains and taxable ordinary income to stockholders annually. There can be no assurances as to the allocation between cash and common stock of our future dividends.

Due to certain investments made by us, our subsidiary REITs may reflect a significant amount of related party rent as non-qualifying income. While our charter protects our stockholders from causing us to have related party rent, actions that we undertake ourselves can cause us or certain of our partners to have related party rent. As a result, we may be restricted with respect to decisions relating to revenue generation at certain properties.

If, with respect to any taxable year, we fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we would not be allowed to deduct distributions to stockholders in computing our taxable income and federal income tax. If any of our REIT subsidiaries fail to qualify as a REIT, such failure could result in our loss of REIT status. If we lose our REIT status, corporate level income tax, including any applicable alternative minimum tax, would apply to our taxable income at regular corporate rates. As a result, the amount available for distribution to holders of equity securities that would otherwise receive dividends would be reduced for the year or years involved, and we would no longer be required to make distributions. In addition, unless we were entitled to relief under the relevant statutory provisions, we would be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for four subsequent taxable years.

We believe that we are a domestically controlled qualified investment entity as defined by the Code. In making that determination, we make certain assumptions. For example, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (PATH Act) permits a publicly traded REIT to treat all of its 5%-or-less stockholders as United States persons unless it has actual knowledge to the contrary. As a result, given that we do not believe that we have actual knowledge that any of our less than 5% stockholders are not United States persons, we treat all of our stockholders, other than non-United States persons that have publicly disclosed an ownership of greater than 5%, as United States persons. Further, we assume that any changes in ownership by stockholders with a greater that 5% ownership are promptly reported.  Although we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, actual facts may differ from the assumptions that we make, and if such facts are different to a significant enough degree, our status as a domestically controlled qualified investment entity could be impacted. Therefore, GGP is unable to give its stockholders any assurance that it is or will continue to be a domestically controlled qualified investment entity.

Legislative or regulatory action could adversely affect stockholders and our Company

While the changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act generally appear to be favorable with respect to REITs, the extensive changes to non-REIT provisions in the Code may have unanticipated effects on us or our stockholders. Moreover, Congressional leaders have recognized that the process of adopting extensive tax legislation in a short amount of time without hearings and substantial time for review is likely to have led to drafting errors, issues needing clarification and unintended consequences that will have to be reviewed in subsequent tax legislation. At this point, it is not clear when Congress will address these issues or when the Internal Revenue Service will issue administrative guidance on the changes made in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

As a result of the changes to U.S. federal tax laws implemented by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, our taxable income and the amount of distributions to our stockholders required in order to maintain our REIT status, and our relative tax advantage as a REIT, may significantly change. The long-term impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the overall economy, government revenues, our tenants, us, and the real estate industry cannot be reliably predicted at this early stage of the new law's implementation. Furthermore, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act may negatively impact certain of our tenants' operating results, financial condition and future business

plans. There can be no assurance that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will not negatively impact our operating results, financial condition and future business operations.

Future changes to tax laws may adversely affect the Company either directly through changes to the taxation of the REIT, its subsidiaries or its stockholders or indirectly through changes which adversely affect its tenants, i.e. pending legislation in Hawaii. These changes could have an adverse effect on an investment in our shares or on the market value or the resale potential of our assets. Not all states automatically conform to changes in the Code. Some states use the legislative process to decide whether it is in their best interests to conform or not to various provisions of the Code. This could increase the complexity of our compliance efforts, increase compliance costs, and may subject us to additional taxes and audit risk.

An ownership limit, certain anti-takeover defenses and applicable law may hinder any attempt to acquire us

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain the following limitations.

The ownership limit

In order to protect our REIT status, our certificate of incorporation provides the following three restrictions on transfer:

Our Board of Directors has the ability to provide a waiver from these ownership restrictions. Any attempt to own or transfer shares or any of our other shares of beneficial interest in violation of these restrictions may result in the transfer being automatically void. Our charter provides that shares in excess of the ownership limits will be transferred to a trust for the exclusive benefit of a charitable beneficiary. As of November 11, 2017, Brookfield's ownership of the Company is 34.6%, which is stated in their Form 13D filed on the same date.

Selected provisions of our charter documents

Our charter authorizes the board of directors:

Selected provisions of our bylaws

Our amended and restated bylaws contain the following limitations:

Selected provisions of Delaware law

We are a Delaware corporation, and Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law applies to us. In general, Section 203 prevents an "interested stockholder" (as defined below), from engaging in a "business combination" (as defined in the statute) with us for three years following the date that person becomes an interested stockholder unless one or more of the following occurs:

The statute defines "interested stockholder" as any person that is the owner of 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock or is an affiliate or associate of us and was the owner of 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock at any time within the three-year period immediately before the date of determination.

Each item discussed above may delay, deter or prevent a change in control of our company, even if a proposed transaction is at a premium over the then current market price for our common stock. Further, these provisions may apply in instances where some stockholders consider a transaction beneficial to them. As a result, our stock price may be negatively affected by these provisions.

There is a risk of investor influence over our company that may be adverse to our best interests and those of our other stockholders

Brookfield owns, or manages on behalf of third parties, a significant portion of the shares of our common stock. Brookfield has entered into standstill agreements to limit their influence, the concentration of ownership of our outstanding equity held or managed by Brookfield may make some transactions more difficult or impossible without their support, or more likely with their support. The interests of Brookfield, any other substantial stockholder or any of their respective affiliates could conflict with or differ from our interests or the interests of the holders of our common stock. For example, the concentration of ownership held or managed by Brookfield could delay, defer or prevent a change of control of our company or impede a merger, takeover or other business combination that may otherwise be favorable for us and the other stockholders. Brookfield may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. We cannot assure you that the standstill agreements can fully protect against these risks.

Brookfield has the right to designate three directors of our Board of Directors as long as it owns 20% or greater of our outstanding shares as stated under the various agreements made during GGP's emergence from bankruptcy in 2010. As long as Brookfield owns directly or indirectly, a substantial portion of our outstanding shares, subject to the terms of the standstill agreements, it would be able to exert significant influence over us, including:

Some of our directors are involved in other businesses including, without limitation, real estate activities and public and/or private investments and, therefore, may have competing or conflicting interests with us and our board of directors has adopted resolutions renouncing any interest or expectation in any such business opportunities. In addition, our relationship agreement with Brookfield Asset Management Inc. contains significant exclusions from Brookfield's obligation to present opportunities to us.

Certain of our directors have and may in the future have interests in other real estate business activities, and may have control or influence over these activities or may serve as investment advisors, directors or officers. These interests and activities, and any duties to third parties arising from such interests and activities, could divert the attention of such directors from our operations. Additionally, certain of our directors are engaged in investment and other activities in which they may learn of real estate and other related opportunities in their non-director capacities. Our Board of Directors has adopted resolutions applicable to our directors that expressly provide, as permitted by Section 1(17) of the DGCL, that our non-employee directors are not obligated to limit their interests or activities in their non-director capacities or to notify us of any opportunities that may arise in connection therewith, even if the opportunities are complementary to or in competition with our businesses. Accordingly, we have, and investors in our common stock should have, no expectation that we will be able to learn of or participate in such opportunities. Additionally, the relationship agreement with Brookfield Asset Management Inc. contains significant exclusions from Brookfield's obligations to present opportunities to us.

Liquidity Risks

Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health and operating flexibility

As of December 31, 2017 , we had $18.6 billion aggregate principal amount of indebtedness outstanding at our proportionate share including $5.6 billion of our share of unconsolidated debt and our Junior Subordinated Notes of $206.2 million . Our indebtedness may have important consequences to us and the value of our equity, including:

Our debt contains restrictions and covenants which may limit our ability to enter into or obtain funding for certain transactions or operate our business

The terms of certain of our debt will require us to satisfy certain customary affirmative and negative covenants and to meet financial ratios and tests, including ratios and tests based on leverage, interest and fixed charge coverage and net worth, or to satisfy similar tests as a precondition to incurring additional debt. We entered into a revolving credit facility in April 2012 that subjects us to such covenants and restrictions. The revolving credit facility was amended in October 2015, and we may draw up to $1.5 billion under it, including the uncommitted accordion feature. In addition, certain of our indebtedness contains restrictions. The covenants and other restrictions under our debt agreements affect, among other things, our ability to:

In addition, our debt contains certain terms which include restrictive operational and financial covenants and restrictions on the distribution of cash flows from properties serving as collateral for the debt. Fees and cash flow restrictions may affect our ability to fund our on-going operations from our operating cash flows and we may be limited in our operating and financial flexibility and, thus, may be limited in our ability to respond to changes in our business or competitive activities.

We may not be able to refinance, extend or repay our consolidated debt or our portion of indebtedness of our Unconsolidated Real Estate Affiliates

As of December 31, 2017 , our proportionate share of total debt, including the $206.2 million of Junior Subordinated Notes, aggregated $18.6 billion consisting of our consolidated debt, net of noncontrolling interest, of $13.0 billion combined with our share of the debt of our Unconsolidated Real Estate Affiliates ( Note 5 ) of $5.6 billion . Of our proportionate share of total debt, $1.2 billion is recourse to the Company due to guarantees or other security provisions for the benefit of the note holder. There can be no assurance that we, or the joint venture, will be able to refinance or restructure this debt on acceptable terms or otherwise, or that operations of the properties or contributions by us and/or our partners will be sufficient to repay such loans. If we or the joint venture cannot service this debt, we or the joint venture may have to deed property back to the applicable lenders.

We may not be able to raise capital through financing activities

Substantially all of our assets are encumbered by property-level indebtedness; therefore, we may be limited in our ability to raise additional capital through property level or other financings. In addition, our ability to raise additional capital could be limited to refinancing existing secured mortgages before their maturity date which may result in yield maintenance or other prepayment penalties to the extent that the mortgage is not open for prepayment at par.

We may not be able to sell assets timely and at prices we believe are appropriate due to the illiquid nature of real estate

Our ability to sell our properties timely and for an attractive price may be limited. Limitations could be caused by the economic climate, which affects the value of our properties, and by the availability of credit, which could increase the cost and difficulty for potential purchasers to acquire financing. These factors may limit our ability to sell these properties at a price that exceeds the cost of our investment.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Refer to Item 7 .

ITEM 1B.    UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2.    PROPERTIES

Our investments in real estate as of December 31, 2017 consisted of our interests in 125 retail properties. We generally own the land underlying the properties; however, at certain of our properties, all or part of the underlying land is owned by a third party that leases the land to us pursuant to a long-term ground lease. We manage substantially all of our Consolidated Properties (defined in Note 1 ) and provide management, leasing, and other services to a majority of our Unconsolidated Properties. Information regarding encumbrances on our properties is included here and on Schedule III of this Annual Report.

Mall and freestanding GLA includes in-line mall shop and outparcel retail locations (locations that are not attached to the primary complex of buildings that comprise a mall) and excludes anchors and tenant-owned GLA.

Anchors are frequently department stores whose merchandise appeals to a broad range of shoppers. Anchors generally either own their stores, the land under them and adjacent parking areas, or enter into long-term leases at rates that are generally lower than the rents charged to mall store tenants. We also typically enter into long-term reciprocal agreements with anchors that provide for, among other things, mall and anchor operating covenants and anchor expense participation. The properties in our portfolio receive a smaller percentage of their operating income from anchors than from retail stores (other than anchors) that are typically specialty retailers who lease space in the structure including, or attached to, the primary complex of buildings that comprise a shopping center.

The following sets forth certain information regarding our properties as of December 31, 2017 :