The stakes represent 50 percent of Taubman’s ownership in the centers: Starfield Hanam (Hanam, South Korea), CityOn.Xi’an (Xi’an, China) and CityOn.Zhengzhou (Zhengzhou, China). This leaves Taubman with a 17.15 percent interest in the Starfield Hanam mall and roughly 25 percent stakes in each of the China malls.

“We are delighted to announce this agreement with Blackstone,” said Taubman Chairman, President and CEO Robert S. Taubman in a prepared statement. “It’s consistent with Taubman’s history of recycling capital for growth, once value is created from development projects. We think Blackstone will be a valuable strategic partner that can help us grow our platform in Asia.”

Taubman will continue to manage the three properties.

“We’re excited to partner with a best-in-class developer and operator in Taubman and [to] add these high-quality assets to Blackstone Property Partners’ recently launched Core Plus real estate investment unit in Asia,” said Chris Heady, Blackstone's chairman for the Asia-Pacific. “In partnership with Wangfujing in China and [with] Shinsegae in South Korea, Taubman has built an impressive platform of three world-class and dominant shopping centers, and we look forward to working closely together in the future.”

Net cash proceeds to Taubman are expected to be about $315 million, after factoring in the transaction costs and the allocation to Blackstone of its share of third-party debt.

“This transaction not only confirms the success of our platform in Asia,” said Taubman CFO Simon J. Leopold, "it increases our liquidity and strengthens our balance sheet in an earnings-accretive manner."