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Chattanooga-based mall owner takes ‘positive step’ by refinancing debt

Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / From right, Adit Nair, Patrick Shurina and Victor Poss walk through Hamilton Place mall. The mall's owner has refinanced $634 million in debt.
Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / From right, Adit Nair, Patrick Shurina and Victor Poss walk through Hamilton Place mall. The mall's owner has refinanced $634 million in debt. Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / From right, Adit Nair, Patrick Shurina and Victor Poss walk through Hamilton Place mall. The mall's owner has refinanced $634 million in debt.

By David Floyd 5 min read

About five years after emerging from bankruptcy protection, the owner of Northgate Mall and Hamilton Place has refinanced $634 million in debt in a transaction that officials said marks a positive step forward for the company.

“It was a pretty significant overhang for the company because people were concerned about our ability to refinance it or our ability to pay it off if we couldn’t refinance it,” CBL Properties CEO Stephen Lebovitz said in a phone call. “We had been dealing with that and a lot of questions from investors and other parties for several years.”

(READ MORE: As CBL’s relisted stock rises, Chattanooga-based mall developer’s CEO foresees return to growth)

Chattanooga-based mall owner takes ‘positive step’ by refinancing debt

Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Shoppers walk through Hamilton Place mall. The mall's owner has refinanced $634 million in debt.
Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Shoppers walk through Hamilton Place mall. The mall’s owner has refinanced $634 million in debt.
Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Shoppers sit down to eat at the Hamilton Place mall food court. The mall's owner has refinanced $634 million in debt.
Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Shoppers sit down to eat at the Hamilton Place mall food court. The mall’s owner has refinanced $634 million in debt.
Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Shoppers walk through Hamilton Place mall. The mall's owner has refinanced $634 million in debt.
Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Shoppers walk through Hamilton Place mall. The mall’s owner has refinanced $634 million in debt.
Staff file photo / Passengers wait near baggage claim for their luggage at the Chattanooga Airport. Officials at the airport have started a drive to collect grocery store and gas station gift cards for TSA employees who are not getting paid due to the partial government shutdown.
Staff file photo / Passengers wait near baggage claim for their luggage at the Chattanooga Airport. Officials at the airport have started a drive to collect grocery store and gas station gift cards for TSA employees who are not getting paid due to the partial government shutdown.

Before refinancing the debt, CBL had about $65 million in annual cash flow. The transaction will free up another $30 million per year that the company can invest into buying new properties, maintaining its existing facilities and increasing its return to shareholders through dividends, Lebovitz said.

“It really is meaningful from that point of view,” Lebovitz said.