Simon Property Group, Inc. (Simon) is a real estate company in United States. Simon operates from five retail real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers, The Mills, community/lifestyle centers and international properties. As of July 31, 2008, the Company owned or had an interest in 383 properties comprising 261 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and Asia. The Company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Simon Property Group, L.P. (the Operating Partnership) is a majority-owned partnership subsidiary of Simon that owns all of its real estate properties. On April 3, 2007, SPG-FCM Ventures, LLC, a joint venture between an entity owned by Simon and funds managed by Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C., completed the acquisition of The Mills Corporation.
| Balance Sheet | |
| Total Cash (mrq): | 646.12M |
| Total Cash Per Share (mrq): | 2.861 |
| Total Debt (mrq): | 17.88B |
| Total Debt/Equity (mrq): | 5.397 |
| Current Ratio (mrq): | 1.024 |
| Book Value Per Share (mrq): | 11.378 |
Thurgy says shareholder dilution coming soon to a secondary near you. How else do they plan on servicing that debt? Sorry folks, parks closed. The moose out front should have told ya. Yeah yeah, I know I've mentioned them here several times over the last month and that it's a favorite long-term short of mine. Anyway, hoping to get a bounce to the 48-50 area this week so I can add a little more to the shorts. I should note their earnings come out on 30-Jan so that's going to be partly responsible for the uptick in volatility in the chart. I'm a buyer of volatility right here, it's the cheapest it's seen since October, in a sector that's going into the crapper. A short put ladder is tempting me for the front-month (already hold leaps). However this would be a directional play to the downside (that's what I expect) as opposed to someone just getting long volatility. There are just too many ways to get long volatility. Adam at the Daily Options Report probably knows at least 5 good ways to do it. He has a PhD in Volatility and a masters in Option Greeks. You do need an above average IQ to comprehend his thoughts and I do not have that IQ but I still go there for the pictures and humor. He occasionally sends me a dumbed down version upon request. Highly recommended blog.
For the long-term, I'm standing at home plate pointing to the left field wall. My view of long-term is years you can count on one hand. Meanwhile the REITards can buy up all the preferred shares they want taking comfort that the 10% dividend is will pay them to wait for the recovery even with a falling stock. Just because you are getting "pot odds" and make the "call" doesn't mean you're going to win the hand. But again the long preferred / short common isn't so bad.
