General Growth files for bankruptcy

General Growth Properties Inc, the second-largest US shopping-mall owner, filed for bankruptcy after failing to refinance more than $27 billion of debt, most of it racked up through acquisitions.

General Growth, which owns more than 200 shopping malls in the US, sought Chapter 11 protection in US Bankruptcy Court in New York. The company listed $29.5 billion in total assets and debts of about $27.3 billion, making it the largest real estate bankruptcy in US history.

"While we have worked tirelessly in the past several months to address our maturing debts, the collapse of the credit markets has made it impossible for us to refinance maturing debt outside of Chapter 11," Chief Executive Officer Adam Metz said in a statement yesterday.