GGP's Leverage

From Deal Junkie and the WSJ

84% leverage? For a REIT? And instead of replying on corporate lines of credit, like most REITs do, GGP's borrowing was through mortgages, presumably a lot of CMBS debt? This is unbelievable. How could the former CFO and company management let this happen?

Rumors confirmed

Last week we started hearing that Perot's investment firm was unwinding and flooding the CMBS market, further widening the market. it's not clear how much they have left to sell, but that surely contributed to the perfect storm we saw...

hat tip, carney @ clusterstock.com