UNITED STATESSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THESECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007
SIMON PROPERTY GROUP, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
225 West Washington StreetIndianapolis, Indiana 46204 (Address of principal executive offices) (ZIP Code)
(317) 636-1600 (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: None
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 if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K 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. ý
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by checkmark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in rule 12-b of the Act). Yes o No ý
The aggregate market value of shares of common stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $20,267 million based on the closing sale price on the New York Stock Exchange for such stock on June 29, 2007.
As of January 31, 2008, Simon Property Group, Inc. had 223,032,032, 8,000 and 4,000 shares of common stock, Class B common stock and Class C common stock outstanding, respectively.
Documents Incorporated By Reference
Portions of the Registrant's Annual Report to Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Parts I, II and IV; and portions of the Registrant's Proxy Statement in connection with its 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference in Part III.
Simon Property Group, Inc. and SubsidiariesAnnual Report on Form 10-KDecember 31, 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Part I
Item 1. Business
Simon Property Group, Inc., or Simon Property, is a Delaware corporation that operates as a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, or REIT, under the Internal Revenue Code. Simon Property Group, L.P., or the Operating Partnership, is our majority-owned partnership subsidiary that owns all of our real estate properties. In this report, the terms "we", "us" and "our" refer to Simon Property Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
We own, develop, and manage retail real estate properties, which consist primarily of regional malls, Premium Outlet® centers, The Mills®, and community/lifestyle centers. As of December 31, 2007, we owned or held an interest in 320 income-producing properties in the United States, which consisted of 168 regional malls, 38 Premium Outlet centers, 67 community/lifestyle centers, 37 properties acquired in the Mills acquisition, and 10 other shopping centers or outlet centers in 41 states and Puerto Rico. Of the 37 Mills properties acquired, 17 of these are The Mills, 16 are regional malls, and four are community centers. We also own interests in four parcels of land held for future development. In the United States, we have four new properties currently under development aggregating approximately 2.75 million square feet which will open during 2008. Internationally, we have ownership interests in 51 European shopping centers (in France, Italy and Poland), six Premium Outlet centers in Japan, one Premium Outlet center in Mexico, and one Premium Outlet center in South Korea. Also, through a joint venture arrangement, we have a 32.5% interest in five shopping centers under development in China.
For a description of our operational strategies and developments in our business during 2007, see the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" section of the 2007 Annual Report to Shareholders filed as Exhibit 13.1 to this Form 10-K.
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
While we emphasize equity real estate investments, we may, at our discretion, invest in mortgages and other real estate interests consistent with our qualification as a REIT. We do not currently intend to invest to a significant extent in mortgages or deeds of trust; however, we hold an interest in one property through a mortgage note which results in us receiving 100% of the economics of the property. We may invest in participating or convertible mortgages if we conclude that we may benefit from the cash flow or any appreciation in the value of the property.
We may invest in securities of other entities engaged in real estate activities or securities of other issuers. However, any of these investments would be subject to the percentage ownership limitations and gross income tests necessary for REIT qualification. These REIT limitations mean that we cannot make an investment 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 REIT's 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 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 must comply with the covenants contained in our financing agreements that limit our ratio of debt to total asset or market value, as defined. For example, the Operating Partnership's lines of credit and the indentures for the
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Operating Partnership's debt securities contain covenants that restrict the total amount of debt of the Operating Partnership to 65%, or 60% in relation to certain debt, of total assets, as defined under the related arrangement, and secured debt to 50% of total assets. In addition, these agreements contain other covenants requiring compliance with financial ratios. Furthermore, the amount of debt that we may incur is limited as a practical matter by our desire to maintain acceptable ratings for our equity securities and the debt securities of the Operating Partnership.
If our Board of Directors determines to seek additional capital, we may raise such capital through additional equity offerings, debt financing, creating joint ventures with existing ownership interests in properties, retention of cash flows or a combination of these methods. Our ability to retain cash flows is limited by the requirement for REITs to distribute at least 90% of their taxable income. We must also take into account taxes that would be imposed on undistributed taxable income. If the 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. This may include issuing stock in exchange for property. 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. Existing stockholders have no preemptive right to purchase shares in any subsequent offering of our securities. Any such offering could dilute a stockholder's investment in us.
We expect most additional borrowings would be made through the Operating Partnership or its subsidiaries. We might, however, incur borrowings that would be reloaned to the Operating Partnership. Borrowings may be in the form of bank borrowings, publicly and privately placed debt instruments, or purchase money obligations to the sellers of properties. Any such indebtedness may be secured or unsecured. Any such indebtedness may also have full or limited recourse to the borrower or cross-collateralized with other debt, or may be fully or partially guaranteed by the Operating Partnership. Although we may borrow to fund the payment of dividends, we currently have no expectation that we will regularly be required to do so.
We have a $3.5 billion revolving unsecured credit facility. We issue debt securities through the Operating Partnership, but we may issue our debt securities which may be convertible into capital stock or be accompanied by warrants to purchase capital stock. We also may sell or securitize our lease receivables. The proceeds from any borrowings or financings may be used for one or more of the following:
We may also finance acquisitions through the following:
The ability of the Operating Partnership to issue units of limited partnership interest to transferors of properties or other partnership interests may defer gain recognition for tax purposes by the transferor. It may also be advantageous for us since there are ownership limits that restrict the number of shares of our capital stock that investors may own.
We do not have a policy limiting the number or amount of mortgages that may be placed on any particular property. Mortgage financing instruments, however, usually limit additional indebtedness on such properties. We also have covenants on our unsecured debt that limit our total secured debt.
Typically, we invest in or form special purpose entities to assist us in obtaining permanent financing on 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, as a joint venture with a third party, or as a securitized financing. For securitized financings, we create special purpose entities to own the properties. These special purpose entities are structured so that they would not be
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consolidated with us in the event we would ever become subject to a bankruptcy proceeding. We decide upon the structure of the financing based upon the best terms then available to us and whether the proposed financing is consistent with our other business objectives. For accounting purposes, we include the outstanding securitized debt of special purpose entities owning consolidated properties as part of our consolidated indebtedness.
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 Business Conduct and Ethics, which 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 New York Stock Exchange companies and cannot be affiliated with the Simon or DeBartolo families who are significant stockholders. Any transaction between us and the Simons or the DeBartolos, including property acquisitions, service and property management agreements and retail space leases, must be approved by a majority of our non-affiliated directors.
The sale by the Operating Partnership of any property that it owns may have an adverse tax impact on the Simons or the DeBartolos and the other limited partners of the Operating Partnership. In order to avoid any conflict of interest between Simon Property and the limited partners of the Operating Partnership, our charter requires that at least six of our independent directors must authorize and require the Operating Partnership to sell any property it owns. Any such sale is subject to applicable agreements with third parties. Noncompetition agreements executed by each of the Simons contain covenants limiting the ability of the Simons to participate in certain shopping center activities in North America.
Policies With Respect To Certain Other Activities
We intend to make investments which are consistent with our qualification as a REIT, unless the Board of Directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to so qualify as a REIT. The Board of Directors may make such a determination because of changing circumstances or changes in the REIT requirements. We have authority to offer shares of our capital 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 Partnership in future periods upon exercise of such holders' rights under the Operating Partnership agreement. 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.
Competition
Our principal competitors are nine other major United States or internationally publicly-held companies that own or operate regional malls, outlet centers, and other shopping centers in the United States and abroad. We also compete with many commercial developers, real estate companies and other owners of retail real estate that operate in our trade areas. Some of our properties and investments are of the same type and are within the same market area as competitor properties. The existence of competitive properties could have a material adverse effect on our ability to lease space and on the level of rents we can obtain. This results in competition for both the acquisition of prime sites (including land for development and operating properties) and for tenants to occupy the space that we and our competitors develop and manage. In addition, our properties compete against other forms of retailing, such as catalog and e-commerce websites, that offer retail products and services.
We believe that we have a competitive advantage in the retail real estate business as a result of:
Our size reduces our dependence upon individual retail tenants. Approximately 5,100 different retailers occupy more than 28,600 stores in our properties and no retail tenant represents more than 2.1% of our properties' total minimum rents.
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Certain Activities
During the past three years, we have:
Employees
At January 28, 2008, we and our affiliates employed approximately 5,100 persons at various properties and offices throughout the United States, of which approximately 1,900 were part-time. Approximately 1,100 of these employees were located at our corporate headquarters in Indianapolis, IN and 150 were located at our Chelsea offices in Roseland, NJ.
Corporate Headquarters
Our corporate headquarters are located at 225 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204, and our telephone number is (317) 636-1600.
Available Information
Our Internet website address is www.simon.com. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available or may be accessed free of charge through the "About Simon/Investor Relations/Financial Information" section of our Internet website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Our Internet website and the information contained therein or connected thereto are not intended to be incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The following corporate governance documents are also available through the About Simon/Investor Relations/Corporate Governance section of our Internet website or may be obtained in print form by request of our Investor Relations Department: Governance Principles, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Audit Committee Charter, Compensation Committee Charter, Nominating Committee Charter, Governance Committee Charter, and Executive Committee Charter.
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Executive Officers of the Registrant
The following table sets forth certain information with respect to our executive officers as of December 31, 2007.
The executive officers of Simon Property serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. For biographical information of David Simon, Richard S. Sokolov, Stephen E. Sterrett, and James M. Barkley, see Item 10 of this report.
Mr. Lewis is the Senior Executive Vice President and President Leasing of Simon Property. Mr. Lewis joined Melvin Simon & Associates, Inc. ("MSA") in 1986 and held various positions with MSA and Simon Property prior to becoming Senior Executive Vice President and President Leasing. In 2002 he was appointed to Executive Vice President Leasing and in 2007 he became Senior Executive Vice President and President Leasing.
Mr. Rulli serves as Simon Property's Executive Vice President and President Simon Management Group and previously served as Executive Vice President Chief Operating Officer Operating Properties and prior to that as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. He joined MSA in 1988 and held various positions with MSA before becoming Simon Property's Executive Vice President in 1993 and Chief Administrative Officer in 2000. In December 2003, he was appointed to Executive Vice President Chief Operating Officer Operating Properties and in November 2007 to Executive Vice President and President Simon Management Group.
Mr. Juster serves as Simon Property's Senior Vice President and Treasurer. He joined MSA in 1989 and held various financial positions with MSA until 1993 and thereafter has held various positions with Simon Property. Mr. Juster became Treasurer in 2001.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
The following factors, among others, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and presented elsewhere by our management from time to time. These factors, among others, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows, and you should carefully consider them. It is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. You should not consider this list to be a complete statement of all potential risks or uncertainties and we may update them in our future periodic reports.
Risks Relating to Debt and the Financial Markets
We have a substantial debt burden that could affect our future operations.
As of December 31, 2007, our consolidated mortgages and other indebtedness, excluding the related premium and discount, totaled $17.2 billion, of which approximately $751 million matures during 2008, including recurring principal amortization on mortgages maturing during 2007. We are subject to the risks normally associated with debt financing, including the risk that our cash flow from operations will be insufficient to meet required debt service. Our debt service costs generally will not be reduced if developments at the property, such as the entry of new competitors or the loss of major tenants, cause a reduction in the income from the property. Should such events occur, our operations may be adversely affected. If a property is mortgaged to secure payment of indebtedness and income from the is insufficient to pay that indebtedness, the property could be foreclosed upon by the mortgagee resulting in a loss of income and a decline in our total asset value.
We depend on external financings for our growth and ongoing debt service requirements.
We depend primarily on external financings, principally debt financings, to fund the growth of our business and to ensure that we can meet ongoing maturities of our outstanding debt. Our access to financing depends on our credit rating, the willingness of banks to lend to us and conditions in the capital markets which have experienced increasing volatility in recent months. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain the financing we need for future growth or to meet our debt service as obligations mature, or that the financing available to us will be on acceptable terms.
Adverse changes in our credit rating could affect our borrowing capacity and borrowing terms.
Our outstanding senior unsecured notes and preferred stock are periodically rated by nationally recognized credit rating agencies. The credit ratings are based on our operating performance, liquidity and leverage ratios, overall financial position, and other factors viewed by the credit rating agencies as relevant to our industry and the economic outlook in general. Our credit rating can affect the amount of capital we can access, as well as the terms of any financing we obtain. Since we depend primarily on debt financing to fund our growth, adverse changes in our credit rating could have a negative effect on our future growth.
Our hedging interest rate protection arrangements may not effectively limit our interest rate risk.
We manage our exposure to interest rate risk by a combination of interest rate protection agreements to effectively fix or cap a portion of our variable rate debt, or in the case of a fair value hedge, effectively convert fixed rate debt to variable rate debt. In addition, we refinance fixed rate debt at times when we believe rates and terms are appropriate. Our efforts to manage these exposures may not be successful.
Our use of interest rate hedging arrangements to manage risk associated with interest rate volatility may expose us to additional risks, including a risk that a counterparty to a hedging arrangement may fail to honor its obligations. Developing an effective interest rate risk strategy is complex and no strategy can completely insulate us from risks associated with interest rate fluctuations. There can be no assurance that our hedging activities will have the desired beneficial impact on our results of operations or financial condition. Termination of these hedging agreements typically involves costs, such as transaction fees or breakage costs.
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Factors Affecting Real Estate Investments and Operations
We face risks associated with the acquisition, development and expansion of properties.
We regularly acquire and develop new properties and expand and redevelop existing properties, and these activities are subject to various risks. We may not be successful in pursuing acquisition, development or redevelopment/expansion opportunities. In addition, newly acquired, developed or redeveloped/expanded properties may not perform as well as expected. We are subject to other risks in connection with any acquisition, development and redevelopment/expansion activities, including the following:
If a development or redevelopment/expansion project is unsuccessful, either because it is not meeting our expectations when operational or was not completed according to the project planning, we could lose our investment in the project. Further, if we guarantee the property's financing, our loss could exceed our investment in the project.
Real estate investments are relatively illiquid.
Our properties represent a substantial portion of our total consolidated assets. These investments are relatively illiquid. As a result, our ability to sell one or more of our properties or investments in real estate in response to any changes in economic or other conditions is limited. If we want to sell a property, we cannot assure you that we will be able to dispose of it in the desired time period or that the sales price of a property will exceed the cost of our investment.
Environmental Risks
As owners of real estate, we can face liabilities for environmental contamination.
Federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment may require us, as a current or previous owner or operator of real property, to investigate and clean up hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum product releases at a property or at impacted neighboring properties. These laws often impose liability regardless of whether the property owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of hazardous or toxic substances. These laws and regulations may require the abatement or removal of asbestos containing materials in the event of damage, demolition or renovation, reconstruction or expansion of a property and also govern emissions of and exposure to asbestos fibers in the air. Those laws and regulations also govern the installation, maintenance and removal of underground storage tanks used to store waste oils or other petroleum products. Many of our properties contain, or at one time contained, asbestos containing materials or underground storage tanks (primarily related to auto service center establishments or emergency electrical generation equipment). The costs of investigation, removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances may be substantial and could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition but is not estimable. The presence of contamination, or the failure to remediate contamination, may also adversely affect our ability to sell, lease or redevelop a property or to borrow using a property as collateral.
Our efforts to identify environmental liabilities may not be successful.
Although we believe that our portfolio is in substantial compliance with Federal, state and local environmental laws, ordinances and regulations regarding hazardous or toxic substances, this belief is based on limited testing. Nearly all of our properties have been subjected to Phase I or similar environmental audits. These environmental audits have not revealed, nor are we aware of, any environmental liability that we believe will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. However, we cannot assure you that:
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Retail Operations Risks
We are subject to risks that affect the general retail environment.
Our concentration in the retail real estate market means that we are subject to the risks that affect the retail environment generally, including the levels of consumer spending, seasonality, the willingness of retailers to lease space in our shopping centers, tenant bankruptcies, changes in economic conditions, consumer confidence and terrorist activities. The possibility that the United States may currently be experiencing a recession could adversely affect consumer spending. Any one or more of these factors could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.
We may not be able to lease newly developed properties and renew leases and relet space at existing properties.
We may not be able to lease new properties to an appropriate mix of tenants or for rents that are consistent with our projections. Also, when leases for our existing properties expire, the premises may not be relet or the terms of reletting, including the cost of allowances and concessions to tenants, may be less favorable than the current lease terms. To the extent that our leasing plans are not achieved, our cash generated before debt repayments and capital expenditures could be adversely affected.
Some of our properties depend on anchor stores or major tenants to attract shoppers and could be adversely affected by the loss of or a store closure by one or more of these tenants.
Regional malls are typically anchored by department stores and other large nationally recognized tenants. The value of some of our properties could be adversely affected if these tenants fail to comply with their contractual obligations, seek concessions in order to continue operations, or cease their operations. Department store and larger store, also referred to as "big box", consolidations typically result in the closure of existing stores or duplicate or geographically overlapping store locations. We do not control the disposition of those department stores or larger stores that we do not own. We also may not control the vacant space that is not re-leased in those stores we do own. Other tenants may be entitled to modify the terms of their existing leases in the event of such closures. The modification could be unfavorable to us as the lessor and could decrease rents or expense recovery charges. Additionally, major tenant closures may result in decreased customer traffic which could lead to decreased sales at other stores. If the sales of stores operating in our properties were to decline significantly due to closing of anchors, economic conditions, or other reasons, tenants may be unable to pay their minimum rents or expense recovery charges. In the event of default by a tenant or anchor store, we may experience delays and costs in enforcing our rights as landlord to recover amounts due to us under the terms of our agreements with those parties.
We face potential adverse effects from tenant bankruptcies.
Bankruptcy filings by retailers occur frequently in the course of our operations. We are continually re-leasing vacant spaces resulting from tenant terminations. The bankruptcy of a tenant, particularly an anchor tenant, may make it more difficult to lease the remainder of the affected properties. Future tenant bankruptcies could adversely affect our properties or impact our ability to successfully execute our re-leasing strategy.
Risks Relating to Joint Venture Properties
We have limited control with respect to some properties that are partially owned or managed by third parties, which may adversely affect our ability to sell or refinance them.
As of December 31, 2007, we owned interests in 181 income-producing properties with other parties. Of those, 19 properties are included in our consolidated financial statements. We account for the other 162 properties under the equity method of accounting, which we refer to as joint venture properties. We serve as general partner or property manager for 93 of these 162 properties; however, certain major decisions, such as selling or refinancing these properties, require the consent of the other owners. Of the properties for which we do not serve as general partner or
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property manager, 59 are in our international joint ventures. The other owners also have other participating rights that we consider substantive for purposes of determining control over the properties' assets. The remaining joint venture properties are managed by third parties. These limitations may adversely affect our ability to sell, refinance, or otherwise operate these properties.
The Operating Partnership guarantees debt or otherwise provides support for a number of joint venture properties.
Joint venture debt is the liability of the joint venture and is typically secured by a mortgage on the joint venture property. As of December 31, 2007, the Operating Partnership has loan guarantees and other guarantee obligations to support $132.5 million and $60.6 million, respectively, of our total $6.6 billion share of joint venture mortgage and other indebtedness. A default by a joint venture under its debt obligations may expose us to liability under a guaranty or letter of credit.
Other Factors Affecting Our Business
Our Common Area Maintenance (CAM) contributions may not allow us to recover the majority of our operating expenses from tenants.
CAM costs typically include allocable energy costs, repairs, maintenance and capital improvements to common areas, janitorial services, administrative, property and liability insurance costs, and security costs. We historically have used leases with variable CAM provisions that adjust to reflect inflationary increases. However, we are making a concerted effort to shift from variable to fixed CAM contributions for our cost recoveries which will fix our tenants' CAM contributions to us. As a result, our CAM contributions may not allow us to recover a substantial portion of these operating costs.
We face a wide range of competition that could affect our ability to operate profitably.
Our properties compete with other retail properties for tenants on the basis of the rent charged and location. The principal competition may come from existing or future developments in the same market areas and from discount shopping centers, outlet malls, catalogues, discount shopping clubs and electronic commerce. The presence of competitive properties also affects our ability to lease space and the level of rents we can obtain. Renovations and expansions at competing malls could also negatively affect our properties.
We also compete with other retail property developers to acquire prime development sites. In addition, we compete with other retail property companies for attractive tenants and qualified management.
Our international expansion may subject us to different or greater risk from those associated with our domestic operations.
We hold interests in joint venture properties that are under operation in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico. We have also established arrangements to develop joint venture properties in China, and expect to pursue additional expansion opportunities outside the United States. International development and ownership activities carry risks that are different from those we face with our domestic properties and operations. These risks include:
Although our international activities currently are a relatively small portion of our business (international properties represented less than 6% of the GLA of all of our properties at December 31, 2007), to the extent that we expand our international activities, these risks could increase in significance which in turn could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
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Some of our potential losses may not be covered by insurance.
We maintain commercial general liability "all risk" property coverage including fire, flood, extended coverage and rental loss insurance on our properties. Our captive insurance company subsidiaries indemnify our general liability carrier for a specific layer of losses. A similar policy written through our subsidiary also provides a portion of our initial coverage for property insurance and certain windstorm risks at the properties located in coastal windstorm locations. Even insured losses could result in a serious disruption to our business and delay our receipt of revenue.
There are some types of losses, including lease and other contract claims that 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 may still remain obligated for any mortgage debt or other financial obligations related to the property.
We currently maintain insurance coverage against acts of terrorism on all of our properties on an "all risk" basis in the amount of up to $1 billion per occurrence for certified foreign acts of terrorism and $500 million per occurrence for non-certified domestic acts of terrorism. The current federal laws which provide this coverage are expected to operate through 2014. Despite the existence of this insurance coverage, any threatened or actual terrorist attacks in high profile markets could adversely affect our property values, revenues, consumer traffic and tenant sales.
Inflation may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Although inflation has not materially impacted our operations in the recent past, increased inflation could have a more pronounced negative impact on our mortgage and debt interest and general and administrative expenses, as these costs could increase at a rate higher than our rents. Also, inflation may adversely affect tenant leases with stated rent increases, which could be lower than the increase in inflation at any given time. Inflation could also have an adverse effect on consumer spending which could impact our tenants' sales and, in turn, our overage rents, where applicable.
Risks Relating to Federal Income Taxes
Our failure to qualify as a REIT would have adverse tax consequences to us and our stockholders.
We cannot assure you that we will remain qualified as a REIT. Qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes is governed by highly technical and complex provisions for which there are only limited judicial or administrative interpretations. If we fail to comply with those provisions, we may be subject to monetary penalties or ultimately to possible disqualification as a REIT. If such events occurs, and if available relief provisions do not apply:
As a result, net income and funds available for distribution to our stockholders will be reduced for those years in which we fail to qualify as a REIT. Also, we would no longer be required to distribute money to our stockholders. Although we currently intend to operate so as to qualify as a REIT, future economic, market, legal, tax or other considerations might cause us to revoke our REIT election.
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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
United States Properties
Our U.S. properties primarily consist of regional malls, Premium Outlet centers, The Mills ®, community/lifestyle centers, and other properties. These properties contain an aggregate of approximately 242 million square feet of gross leasable area, or GLA, of which we own approximately 150.8 million square feet. Total estimated retail sales at the properties in 2007 were approximately $60 billion.
Regional malls typically contain at least one traditional department store anchor or a combination of anchors and big box retailers with a wide variety of smaller stores connecting the anchors. Additional stores are usually located along the perimeter of the parking area. Our 168 regional malls are generally enclosed centers and range in size from approximately 400,000 to 2.3 million square feet of GLA. Our regional malls contain in the aggregate more than 18,300 occupied stores, including approximately 675 anchors, which are mostly national retailers.
Premium Outlet centers generally contain a wide variety of retailers located in open-air manufacturers' outlet centers. Our 38 Premium Outlet centers range in size from approximately 200,000 to 850,000 square feet of GLA. The Premium Outlet centers are generally located near metropolitan areas including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco; or within 20 miles of major tourist destinations including Palm Springs, Napa Valley, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Honolulu.
The Mills portfolio consists of Mills centers, regional malls, and community centers. The 17 Mills centers generally range in size from 1.0 million to 2.3 million square feet of GLA. The Mills centers are located in major metropolitan areas and have a combination of traditional mall, outlet center, and big box retailers and entertainment uses. The 16 regional malls typically range in size from 700,000 to 1.3 million square feet of GLA and contain a wide variety of national retailers. The four community centers are adjacent to Mills centers, and contain a mix of big box and other local and national retail tenants.
Community/lifestyle centers are generally unenclosed and smaller than our regional malls. Our 67 community/lifestyle centers generally range in size from approximately 100,000 to 900,000 square feet of GLA. Community/lifestyle centers are designed to serve a larger trade area and typically contain anchor stores and other tenants that are usually national retailers among the leaders in their markets. These tenants generally occupy a significant portion of the GLA of the center. We also own traditional community shopping centers that focus primarily on value-oriented and convenience goods and services. These centers are usually anchored by a supermarket, discount retailer, or drugstore and are designed to service a neighborhood area. Finally, we own open-air centers adjacent to our regional malls designed to take advantage of the drawing power of the mall.
We also have interests in 10 other shopping centers or outlet centers. These properties range in size from approximately 85,000 to 300,000 square feet of GLA and in total represent less than 1% of our total operating income before depreciation.
The following table provides representative data for our U.S. properties as of December 31, 2007:
As of December 31, 2007, approximately 93.5% of the owned GLA in regional malls and the retail space of the other properties was leased, approximately 99.7% of owned GLA in the Premium Outlet centers was leased, approximately 94.1% of the owned GLA for the Mills and 89.5% of owned GLA for the Mills regional malls was leased, and approximately 94.1% of owned GLA in the community/lifestyle centers was leased.
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We own 100% of 198 of our properties, effectively control 19 properties in which we have a joint venture interest, and hold the remaining 103 properties through unconsolidated joint venture interests. We are the managing or co-managing general partner or member of 310 properties. Substantially all of our joint venture properties are subject to rights of first refusal, buy-sell provisions, or other sale rights for all partners which are customary in real estate partnership agreements and the industry. Our partners in our joint ventures may initiate these provisions at any time, which will result in either the use of available cash or borrowings to acquire their partnership interest or the disposal of our partnership interest.
The following property table summarizes certain data on our regional malls, Premium Outlet centers, the properties acquired in the Mills acquisition, and community/lifestyle centers located in the United States, including Puerto Rico, as of December 31, 2007.
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Simon Property Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Property Table
U.S. Properties
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FOOTNOTES:
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International Properties
Our interests in properties outside the United States are all owned through international joint venture arrangements.
European Investments
The following summarizes our joint venture investments in Europe and the underlying countries in which these joint ventures own and operate real estate properties as of December 31, 2007:
In addition, we jointly hold with a third party an interest in one parcel of land for development near Paris, France outside of these two joint ventures. Simon Ivanhoe and its wholly-owned subsidiary are fully integrated European retail real estate developers, owners and managers.
Our properties in Europe consist primarily of hypermarket-anchored shopping centers. Substantially all of our European properties are anchored by either the hypermarket retailer Auchan, primarily in Italy, who is also our partner in GCI, or are anchored by the hypermarket Carrefour in France and Poland. Certain of the properties in Italy are subject to leaseholds whereby GCI leases all or a portion of the premises from a third party who is entitled to receive substantially all the economic benefits of that portion of the properties. Auchan and Carrefour are the two largest hypermarket operators in Europe.
Other International Investments
We also hold real estate interests in six joint ventures in Japan, one in Mexico, and one in South Korea. The six joint ventures in Japan operate Premium Outlet centers in various cities in Japan and are held in joint ventures with Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. and Sojitz Corporation (formerly known as Nissho Iwai Corporation). These centers have over 1.6 million square feet of GLA and were all 100% leased as of December 31, 2007. They contain 600 stores with approximately 300 different tenants. The Premium Outlet center in Mexico is 88% leased as of December 31, 2007, and the Premium Outlet center in South Korea is 100% leased as of December 31, 2007.
The following summarizes these eight Premium Outlet centers in international joint ventures:
We also have begun construction on Sendai Izumi Premium Outlets, a 172,000 square foot center located in Sendai, Japan. We have a 40% interest in this property consistent with the ownership structure of our other Japanese investments. Also, through a joint venture arrangement with MSREF and SZITIC CP, we have a 32.5% interest in five shopping centers that are under construction in China aggregating 2.5 million square feet of GLA.
The following property table summarizes certain data on our properties that are under operation in Europe, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea at December 31, 2007.
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Simon Property Group, Inc. and SubsidiariesInternational Property Table
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Land Held for Development
We have direct or indirect ownership interests in four parcels of land held in the United States for future development, containing an aggregate of approximately 300 acres located in three states.
Also, on December 28, 2005, we invested $50.0 million of equity for a 40% interest in a joint venture with Toll Brothers, Inc. and Meritage Homes Corp. to purchase a 5,485-acre land parcel in northwest Phoenix from DaimlerChrysler Corporation for $312 million. The principal use of the land upon attaining entitled status is the development of single-family homesites by our partners. As a result of the recent downturn in the residential market, during the fourth quarter of 2007 we recorded an impairment charge of $55.1 million, $35.6 million net of tax benefit, representing our entire investment in this joint venture entity, including interest capitalized on our invested equity.
Sustainability and Energy Efficiency
Due to the size of our portfolio, we focus on energy efficiency as a core sustainability strategy. Through the continued use of energy conservation practices, energy efficiency projects, and continuous monitoring and reporting, have reduced our energy consumption at comparable properties every year since 2003. As a result, the absolute corporate energy use for operations under our control (which excludes electricity consumed by our tenants) has decreased by 9.7% from 2003 to 2007. The 102 million kilowatt-hours decrease in energy use for this four-year period reduced related annual CO2 emissions by over 67,932 tons. This is equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered annually by 15,439 acres of pine or fir forests and to approximately $11.0 million in avoided annual operating costs.
We were awarded NAREIT's Leader in the Light Gold Award for the second year in a row and have been named 2008 "Energy Partner of the Year" by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We were the first real estate company in the S&P 500 and the first retail property REIT to win this award.
Mortgage Financing on Properties
The following table sets forth certain information regarding the mortgages and other debt encumbering our properties and the properties held by our international joint venture arrangements. Substantially all of the mortgage and property related debt is nonrecourse to us.
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Mortgage and Other Debt on Portfolio Properties As of December 31, 2007 (Dollars in thousands)
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(Footnotes on following page)
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(Footnotes for preceding pages)
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Changes in Mortgages and Other Indebtedness
The changes in mortgages and other indebtedness for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005 are as follows:
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
In November of 2004, the Attorneys General of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut filed complaints in their respective state courts against us and our affiliate, SPGGC, Inc., alleging that the sale of co-branded, bank-issued gift cards sold in certain of our properties violated gift certificate statutes and consumer protection laws in those states. We filed our own actions for declaratory relief in Federal district courts in each of the three states. We have also been named as a defendant in two other state court proceedings in New York which have been brought by private parties as purported class actions. They allege violation of state consumer protection and contract laws and seek a variety of remedies, including unspecified damages and injunctive relief.
In 2006, we received a judgment in our favor in the Federal district court in New Hampshire. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling on May 30, 2007, holding that the current gift card program is a banking product and state law regulation is preempted by federal banking laws. The First Circuit Court of Appeals did not, however, rule on the question of whether the gift card program as it existed prior to January 1, 2005, was similarly exempt from state regulation. In February 2007, we entered into a voluntary, no-fault settlement with the New Hampshire Attorney General relating to the gift card program in New Hampshire as it existed prior to January 1, 2005. The New Hampshire litigation was dismissed at that time.
In October 2007, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the case brought by the Connecticut Attorney General holding that the Connecticut gift card statute could be applied to the gift card program as it existed prior to January 1, 2005, and could prohibit the charging of administrative fees but could not prohibit the use of expiration dates on gift cards.
We believe we have viable defenses under both state and federal laws to the pending gift card actions in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. Although it is not possible to provide any assurance of the ultimate outcome of any of these pending actions, management does not believe they will have any material adverse affect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flow.
We are involved in various other legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business. We believe that such litigation, claims and administrative proceedings will not have a material adverse impact on our financial position or our results of operations. We record a liability when a loss is considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated.
Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
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Part II
Item 5. Market for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SPG". The quarterly price range on the NYSE for the shares and the distributions declared per share for each quarter in the last two fiscal years are shown below:
There is no established public trading market for Simon Property's Class B common stock or Class C common stock. Distributions per share of the Class B and Class C common stock are identical to the common stock.
Holders
The number of holders of record of common stock outstanding was 2,165 as of December 31, 2007. The Class B common stock is held entirely by a voting trust to which Melvin Simon, Herbert Simon, David Simon and certain of their affiliates are parties and is exchangeable on a one-for-one basis into shares of common stock, and the Class C common stock is held entirely by NID Corporation, the successor corporation of Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, and is also exchangeable on a one-for-one basis into shares of common stock.
Dividends
We are required to pay a minimum level of dividends to maintain our status as a REIT. Our dividends and distributions of the Operating Partnership typically exceed our net income generated in any given year primarily because of depreciation, which is a "non-cash" expense. Our future dividends and the distributions of the Operating Partnership will be determined by the Board of Directors based on actual results of operations, cash available for dividends and limited partner distributions, and what may be required to maintain our status as a REIT. We paid a common stock dividend of $0.84 per share in the fourth quarter of 2007.
We offer an Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan that allows stockholders to acquire additional shares by automatically reinvesting cash dividends. Shares are acquired pursuant to the plan at a price equal to the prevailing market price of such shares, without payment of any brokerage commission or service charge.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
During the fourth quarter of 2007, we sold 6,000,000 shares of Series L Variable Rate Redeemable Preferred Stock to a single institutional investor for $150.0 million. We used the proceeds to fund the redemption of the Series G Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock. The Series L preferred stock was not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in reliance upon the exemption contained in Section 4(2) regarding private transactions. We redeemed the series L preferred stock in the fourth quarter of 2007 for a price equal to its liquidation value plus accrued dividends.
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Issuances Under Equity Compensation Plans
For information regarding the securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans, see Item 12 of this report.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
On July 26, 2007, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $1.0 billion of our common stock over the next twenty-four months as market conditions warrant. We may repurchase shares in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. As of December 31, 2007, the program had remaining availability of approximately $950.7 million. There were no purchases under this program during the fourth quarter of 2007.
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to the Selected Financial Data section of the 2007 Annual Report to Stockholders filed as Exhibit 13.1 to this Form 10-K.
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of Simon Property's 2007 Annual Report to Stockholders filed as Exhibit 13.1 to this Form 10-K.
Item 7A. Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosure About Market Risk
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of Simon Property's 2007 Annual Report to Stockholders under the caption "Liquidity and Capital Resources Market Risk," filed as Exhibit 13.1 to this Form 10-K.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Reference is made to the Index to Financial Statements contained in Item 15.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. We carried out an evaluation under the supervision and with participation of management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-15. Based upon that evaluation, our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2007.
Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our management's report on internal control over financial reporting is set forth in our 2008 Annual Report to Stockholders filed as Exhibit 13.1 to this Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f)) that occurred during the fourth quarter of 2007 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
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Part III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to the definitive proxy statement for our 2008 annual meeting of stockholders to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A and the information included under the caption "Executive Officers of the Registrants" in Part I hereof.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to the definitive proxy statement for our 2008 annual meeting of stockholders to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
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Part IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
Simon Property Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries' consolidated financial statements and independent registered public accounting firm's reports are included in our 2007 Annual Report to Stockholders, filed as Exhibit 13.1 to this Form 10-K and are incorporated herein by reference.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
February 26, 2008
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
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SCHEDULE III
Simon Property Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Real Estate and Accumulated DepreciationDecember 31, 2007(Dollars in thousands)
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Simon Property Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Notes to Schedule III as of December 31, 2007 (Dollars in thousands)
(1) Reconciliation of Real Estate Properties:
The changes in real estate assets for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006, and 2005 are as follows:
The unaudited aggregate cost of real estate assets for federal income tax purposes as of December 31, 2007 was $18,506,993.
(2) Reconciliation of Accumulated Depreciation:
The changes in accumulated depreciation and amortization for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006, and 2005 are as follows:
Depreciation of Simon Property's investment in buildings and improvements reflected in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income is calculated over the estimated original lives of the assets as follows:
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