Canadian fund buys stake in Plaza Frontenac, Galleria

General Growth Properties, the owner of the Saint Louis Galleria, said Wednesday that it formed a joint venture with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to buy Plaza Frontenac. CPPIB also invested in the Saint Louis Galleria as part of the deal.

Chicago-based General Growth will own a 55 percent interest in Plaza Frontenac, and CPPIB will own a 45 percent interest in that mall. CPPIB bought a 26 percent stake in the Saint Louis Galleria.

The companies didn’t disclose financial terms of the joint venture.

General Growth Properties’ board approved a new joint venture in July to buy Plaza Frontenac. The details were revealed Wednesday.

Plaza Frontenac, with 482,000 square feet of leasable space, is one of only nine malls worldwide anchored by both Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. Saint Louis Galleria, with more than 1 million square feet of leasable space, is anchored by Macy’s, Dillard’s and a Nordstrom    set to open Friday.

Plaza Frontenac’s previous owners, a joint venture between Davis Street Land Co. and Verizon Communications’ pension fund, put the mall up for sale in May.  At the time, media reports estimated that the mall could fetch more than $135 million.

General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.