CBL & Associates Properties Inc., the owner of more than 100 shopping malls across the U.S., is preparing to file for bankruptcy, according to people with knowledge of the plans, Bloomberg reported. The company has been negotiating with its lenders in an effort to enter chapter 11 with a consensual restructuring agreement in place. The plans aren’t final, and elements could change. CBL, which operates mostly so-called Class B malls, has been hurt in part by struggles of retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and Ascena Retail Group Inc., among the landlord’s top tenants based on revenue at the end of 2019. CBL’s own financial distress shows the impact of retail-sector failures, which have come fast and furious in recent years. Shares of Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL plunged 11 percent after Bloomberg reported the bankruptcy preparations, and dropped an additional 18 percent. The mall owner said in June that the loss of income from stores withholding rent during the COVID-19 pandemic had forced it to skip an interest payment due on some of its more than $3 billion debt. It has a forbearance agreement with debt-holders that was extended until July 22. CBL bonds maturing in 2023 last traded around 25 cents on the dollar.
