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Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

8. Equity

Simon’s Board of Directors is authorized to reclassify excess common stock into one or more additional classes and series of capital stock, to establish the number of shares in each class or series and to fix the preferences, conversion and other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends, and qualifications and terms and conditions of redemption of such class or series, without any further vote or action by the stockholders. The issuance of additional classes or series of capital stock may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us without further action of the stockholders. The ability to issue additional classes or series of capital stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or of discouraging a third party from acquiring, a majority of Simon’s outstanding voting stock.

Holders of common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, other than for the election of directors. The holders of Simon’s Class B common stock have the right to elect up to four members of Simon’s Board of Directors. All 8,000 outstanding shares of the Class B common stock are subject to two voting trusts as to which Herbert Simon and David Simon are the trustees. Shares of Class B common stock convert automatically into an equal number of shares of common stock upon the occurrence of certain events and can be converted into shares of common stock at the option of the holders.

Common Stock and Unit Issuances and Repurchases

In 2019, Simon issued 24,000 shares of common stock to a limited partner of the Operating Partnership in exchange for an equal number of units pursuant to the partnership agreement of the Operating Partnership. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Operating Partnership redeemed 43,255 units from nine limited partners for $6.8 million in cash. In 2018, Simon issued 92,732 shares of common stock to two limited partners of the Operating Partnership in exchange for an equal number of units pursuant to the partnership agreement of the Operating Partnership. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Operating Partnership redeemed 454,704 units from eight limited partners for $81.5 million in cash. These transactions increased Simon’s ownership interest in the Operating Partnership.

On September 25, 2018, the Operating Partnership issued 475,183 units in connection with the acquisition of the remaining 50% interest in The Outlets at Orange, as discussed in Note 4.

On February 13, 2017, Simon’s Board of Directors authorized a two-year extension of the previously authorized $2.0 billion common stock repurchase plan through March 31, 2019. On February 11, 2019, Simon's Board of Directors authorized a new common stock repurchase plan. Under the new program, the Company may purchase up to $2.0 billion of its common stock during the two-year period ending February 11, 2021. Simon may repurchase the shares in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions as market conditions warrant. During the year ended December 31, 2019, Simon purchased 2,247,074 shares at an average price of $160.11 per share, of which 46,377 shares at an average price of $164.49 were purchased as part of the previous program. During the year ended December 31, 2018, Simon repurchased 2,275,194 shares at an average price of $155.64 per share as part of the previous program. As Simon repurchases shares under this program, the Operating Partnership repurchases an equal number of units from Simon.

Temporary Equity

Simon

Simon classifies as temporary equity those securities for which there is the possibility that Simon could be required to redeem the security for cash irrespective of the probability of such a possibility. As a result, Simon classifies one series of preferred units in the Operating Partnership and noncontrolling redeemable interests in properties in temporary equity. Each of these securities is discussed further below.

Limited Partners’ Preferred Interest in the Operating Partnership and Noncontrolling Redeemable Interests in Properties. The redemption features of the preferred units in the Operating Partnership contain provisions which could require the Operating Partnership to settle the redemption in cash. As a result, this series of preferred units in the Operating Partnership remains classified outside permanent equity.

The remaining noncontrolling interests in a property or portfolio of properties which are redeemable at the option of the holder or in circumstances that may be outside Simon’s control, are accounted for as temporary equity. The carrying amount of the noncontrolling interest is adjusted to the redemption amount assuming the instrument is redeemable at the balance sheet date. Changes in the redemption value of the underlying noncontrolling interest are recorded and presented within accumulated deficit in the consolidated statements of equity in the line issuance of unit equivalents and other. There were no noncontrolling interests redeemable at amounts in excess of fair value as of December 31, 2019 and 2018. The following table summarizes the preferred units in the Operating Partnership and the amount of the noncontrolling redeemable interests in properties as of December 31.


	2019		2018
7.50% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units, 260,000 units authorized, 255,373 issued and outstanding	$	25,537	$	25,537
Other noncontrolling redeemable interests in properties		193,524		204,626
Limited partners’ preferred interest in the Operating Partnership and noncontrolling redeemable interests in properties	$	219,061	$	230,163

7.50% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units. This series of preferred units accrues cumulative quarterly distributions at a rate of $7.50 annually. The preferred units are redeemable by the Operating Partnership upon the death of the survivor of the original holders, or the transfer of any preferred units to any person or entity other than the persons or entities entitled to the benefits of the original holder. The redemption price is the liquidation value ($100.00 per preferred unit) plus accrued and unpaid distributions, payable either in cash or fully registered shares of common stock at our election. In the event of the death of a holder of the preferred units, the occurrence of certain tax triggering events applicable to the holder, or on or after November 10, 2006, the holder may require the Operating Partnership to redeem the preferred units at the same redemption price payable at the option of the Operating Partnership in either cash or shares of common stock. These preferred units have a carrying value of $25.5 million and are included in limited partners’ preferred interest in the Operating Partnership in the consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2019 and 2018.

The Operating Partnership

The Operating Partnership classifies as temporary equity those securities for which there is the possibility that the Operating Partnership could be required to redeem the security for cash, irrespective of the probability of such a possibility. As a result, the Operating Partnership classifies one series of preferred units and noncontrolling redeemable interests in properties in temporary equity. Each of these securities is discussed further below.

Noncontrolling Redeemable Interests in Properties Redeemable instruments, which typically represent the remaining noncontrolling interests in a property or portfolio of properties, and which are redeemable at the option of the holder or in circumstances that may be outside our control, are accounted for as temporary equity. The carrying amount of the noncontrolling interest is adjusted to the redemption amount assuming the instrument is redeemable at the balance sheet date. Changes in the redemption value of the underlying noncontrolling interest are recorded within equity and are presented in the consolidated statements of equity in the line issuance of unit equivalents and other. There are no noncontrolling interests redeemable at amounts in excess of fair value as of December 31, 2019 and 2018. The following table summarizes the preferred units and the amount of the noncontrolling redeemable interests in properties as of December 31.


	2019		2018
7.50% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units, 260,000 units authorized, 255,373 issued and outstanding	$	25,537	$	25,537
Other noncontrolling redeemable interests in properties		193,524		204,626
Total preferred units, at liquidation value, and noncontrolling redeemable interests in properties	$	219,061	$	230,163

7.50% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units The 7.50% preferred units accrue cumulative quarterly distributions at a rate of $7.50 annually. We may redeem the preferred units upon the death of the survivor of the original holders, or the transfer of any preferred units to any person or entity other than the persons or entities entitled to the benefits of the original holder. The redemption price is the liquidation value ($100.00 per preferred unit) plus accrued and unpaid distributions, payable either in cash or fully registered shares of common stock of Simon at our election. In the event of the death of a holder of the 7.5% preferred units, the occurrence of certain tax triggering events applicable to the holder, or on or after November 10, 2006, the holder may require the Operating Partnership to redeem the preferred units at the same redemption price payable at the Operating Partnership’s option in either cash or fully registered shares of common stock of Simon. These preferred units have a carrying value of $25.5 million and are included in preferred units, at liquidation value in the consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2019 and 2018.

Permanent Equity

Simon

Preferred Stock. Dividends on all series of preferred stock are calculated based upon the preferred stock’s preferred return multiplied by the preferred stock’s corresponding liquidation value. The Operating Partnership pays preferred distributions to Simon equal to the dividends Simon pays on the preferred stock issued.

Series J 8³/₈% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock. Dividends accrue quarterly at an annual rate of 8³/₈% per share. Simon can redeem this series, in whole or in part, on or after October 15, 2027 at a redemption price of $50.00 per share, plus accumulated and unpaid dividends. This preferred stock was issued at a premium of $7.5 million. The unamortized premium included in the carrying value of the preferred stock at December 31, 2019 and 2018 was $2.6 million and $2.9 million, respectively.

The Operating Partnership

Series J 8³/₈% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units. Distributions accrue quarterly at an annual rate of 8³/₈% per unit on the Series J 8³/₈% preferred units, or Series J preferred units. Simon owns all of the Series J preferred

units which have the same economic rights and preferences of an outstanding series of Simon preferred stock. The Operating Partnership can redeem this series, in whole or in part, when Simon can redeem the related preferred stock, on and after October 15, 2027 at a redemption price of $50.00 per unit, plus accumulated and unpaid distributions. The Series J preferred units were issued at a premium of $7.5 million. The unamortized premium included in the carrying value of the preferred units at December 31, 2019 and 2018 was $2.6 million and $2.9 million, respectively. There are 1,000,000 Series J preferred units authorized and 796,948 Series J preferred units issued and outstanding.

Other Equity Activity

The Simon Property Group 1998 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended. This plan, or the 1998 plan, provides for the grant of equity-based awards with respect to the equity of Simon in the form of options to purchase shares, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock grants and performance-based unit awards. Options may be granted which are qualified as “incentive stock options” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code and options which are not so qualified. An aggregate of 16,300,000 shares of common stock have been reserved for issuance under the 1998 plan.

The 1998 plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of Simon’s Board of Directors, or the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee determines which eligible individuals may participate and the type, extent and terms of the awards to be granted to them. In addition, the Compensation Committee interprets the 1998 plan and makes all other determinations deemed advisable for its administration. Options granted to employees become exercisable over the period determined by the Compensation Committee. The exercise price of an employee option may not be less than the fair market value of the shares on the date of grant. Employee options generally vest over a three-year period and expire ten years from the date of grant.

Directors who are not also our employees or employees of our affiliates are eligible to receive awards under the 1998 plan. Each independent director receives an annual cash retainer of $110,000, and an annual restricted stock award with a grant date value of $175,000. Committee chairs receive annual retainers for the Company’s Audit, Compensation, and Governance and Nominating Committees of $35,000, $35,000 and $25,000, respectively. Directors receive fixed annual retainers for service on the Audit, Compensation and Governance and Nominating Committees, of $15,000, $15,000, and $10,000, respectively. The Lead Director receives an annual retainer of $50,000. These retainers are paid 50% in cash and 50% in restricted stock.

Restricted stock awards vest in full after one year. Once vested, the delivery of the shares of restricted stock (including reinvested dividends) is deferred under our Director Deferred Compensation Plan until the director retires, dies or becomes disabled or otherwise no longer serves as a director. The directors may vote and are entitled to receive dividends on the underlying shares; however, any dividends on the shares of restricted stock must be reinvested in shares of common stock and held in the Director Deferred Compensation Plan until the shares of restricted stock are delivered to the former director.

In accordance with its terms, the 1998 Plan expired on December 31, 2018. The shares of common stock that were available for grant under the 1998 Plan at the time of its expiration are not available for grant under the 2019 Plan.

The Simon Property Group, L.P. 2019 Stock Incentive Plan. This plan, or the 2019 plan, provides for the grant of equity-based awards with respect to the equity of Simon in the form of incentive and nonqualified stock options to purchase shares, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock grants and performance-based awards. Options may be granted which are qualified as “incentive stock options” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code and options which are not so qualified. An aggregate of 8,000,000 shares of common stock have been reserved under the 2019 plan.

The 2019 plan is administered by the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee determines which eligible individuals may participate and the type, extent and terms of the awards to be granted to them. In addition, the Compensation Committee interprets the 2019 plan and makes all other determinations deemed advisable for its administration. Options granted to employees become exercisable over the period determined by the Compensation

Committee. The exercise price of an employee option may not be less than the fair market value of the shares on the date of grant. Employee options generally vest over a three-year period and expire ten years from the date of grant.

Directors who are not also our employees or employees of our affiliates are eligible to receive awards under the 2019 plan. Each independent director receives an annual cash retainer of $110,000, and an annual restricted stock award with a grant date value of $175,000. Committee chairs receive annual retainers for the Company’s Audit, Compensation, and Governance and Nominating Committees of $35,000, $35,000 and $25,000, respectively. Directors receive fixed annual retainers for service on the Audit, Compensation and Governance and Nominating Committees, of $15,000, $15,000, and $10,000, respectively. The Lead Director receives an annual retainer of $50,000. These retainers are paid 50% in cash and 50% in restricted stock.

Stock Based Compensation

Awards under our stock based compensation plans primarily take the form of LTIP units and restricted stock grants. Restricted stock and awards under the LTIP programs are either market or performance-based and are based on various individual, corporate and business unit performance measures as further described below. The expense related to these programs, net of amounts capitalized, is included within home and regional office costs and general and administrative costs in the accompanying statements of operations and comprehensive income.

LTIP Programs. The Compensation Committee has approved long-term, performance based incentive compensation programs, or the LTIP programs, for certain senior employees. Awards under the LTIP programs take the form of LTIP units, a form of limited partnership interest issued by the Operating Partnership, which are subject to the participant maintaining employment with us through certain dates and other conditions as described in the applicable award agreements. Awarded LTIP units not earned in accordance with the conditions set forth in the applicable award agreements are forfeited. Earned and fully vested LTIP units are equivalent to units of the Operating Partnership. During the performance period, participants are entitled to receive distributions on the LTIP units awarded to them equal to 10% of the regular quarterly distributions paid on a unit of the Operating Partnership. As a result, we account for these LTIP units as participating securities under the two-class method of computing earnings per share.

In 2018, the Compensation Committee established and granted awards under a redesigned LTIP program, or the 2018 LTIP program. Awards under the 2018 LTIP program were granted in two tranches, Tranche A LTIP units and Tranche B LTIP units. Each of the Tranche A LTIP units and the Tranche B LTIP units will be considered earned if, and only to the extent to which, the respective goals based on Funds From Operations, or FFO, per share or Relative TSR Goal performance criteria, as defined in the applicable award agreements, are achieved during the applicable two-year and three-year performance periods of the Tranche A LTIP units and Tranche B LTIP units, respectively. One half of the earned Tranche A LTIP units will vest on January 1, 2021 with the other one-half vesting on January 1, 2022. All of the earned Tranche B LTIP units will vest on January 1, 2022.

The grant date fair value of the portion of the LTIP units based on achieving the target FFO performance criteria is $6.1 million for the Tranche A LTIP units and the Tranche B LTIP units, for a total of $12.1 million. The 2018 LTIP program provides that the value of the FFO-based award may be adjusted up or down based on the Company’s performance compared to the target FFO performance criteria and has a maximum potential fair value of $18.2 million.

In 2019, the Compensation Committee established and granted awards under a redesigned LTIP program, or the 2019 LTIP program. Awards under the 2019 LTIP program will be considered earned if, and only to the extent to which, the respective performance conditions (based on Funds From Operations, or FFO, per share, and Objective Criteria Goals)

and market conditions (based on Relative TSR performance), as defined in the applicable award agreements, are achieved during the applicable three-year measurement period, subject to the recipient’s continued employment through the vesting date. All of the earned LTIP units under the 2019 LTIP program will vest on January 1, 2023. The 2019 LTIP program provides that the amount earned of the performance-based portion of the awards is dependent on Simon’s performance compared to certain criteria and has a maximum potential fair value at issuance of $22.1 million.

The grant date fair values of any LTIP units for market-based awards are estimated using a Monte Carlo model, and the resulting fixed expense is recorded regardless of whether the market condition criteria are achieved if the required service is delivered. The grant date fair values of the market-based awards are being amortized into expense over the period from the grant date to the date at which the awards, if earned, would become vested. The expense of the performance-based award is recorded over the period from the grant date to the date at which the awards, if earned, would become vested, based on our assessment as to whether it is probable that the performance criteria will be achieved during the applicable performance periods.

The Compensation Committee approved LTIP unit grants as shown in the table below. The extent to which LTIP units were earned, and the aggregate grant date fair value, are as follows:


LTIP Program	LTIP Units Earned	Grant Date Fair Value of TSR Award	Grant Date Target Value of Performance-Based Awards
2018 LTIP program - Tranche A	To be determined in 2020	$6.1 million	$6.1 million
2018 LTIP program - Tranche B	To be determined in 2021	$6.1 million	$6.1 million
2019 LTIP program	To be determined in 2022	$9.5 million	$14.7 million

We recorded compensation expense, net of capitalization and forfeitures, related to LTIP programs of approximately $15.8 million, $12.0 million, and $14.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Restricted Stock. The 1998 and 2019 plans also provide for shares of restricted stock to be granted to certain employees at no cost to those employees, subject to achievement of individual performance and certain financial and return-based performance measures established by the Compensation Committee related to the most recent year’s performance. Once granted, the shares of restricted stock then vest annually over a three-year or a four-year period (as defined in the award). The cost of restricted stock grants, which is based upon the stock’s fair market value on the grant date, is recognized as expense ratably over the vesting period. Through December 31, 2019 a total of 5,865,147 shares of restricted stock, net of forfeitures, have been awarded under the 1998 plan, and 12,178 shares of restricted stock have been awarded under the 2019 plan. Information regarding restricted stock awards is summarized in the following table for each of the years presented:


	For the Year Ended
	December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Shares of restricted stock awarded during the year, net of forfeitures		90,902		51,756		76,660
Weighted average fair value of shares granted during the year	$	181.94	$	153.24	$	170.81
Annual amortization	$	12,604	$	12,029	$	13,911

We recorded compensation expense, net of capitalization, related to restricted stock for employees and non-employee directors of approximately $11.0 million, $7.8 million, and $9.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Other Compensation Arrangements. On July 6, 2011, in connection with the execution of an employment agreement, the Compensation Committee granted David Simon, Simon’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, a retention award in the form of 1,000,000 LTIP units, or the Award, for his continued service through July 5, 2019. Effective December 31, 2013, the Award was modified, or the Current Award, and as a result the LTIP units would become earned and eligible to vest based on the attainment of Company-based performance goals, in addition to the service-based vesting requirement included in the original Award. The Current Award does not contain an opportunity for Mr. Simon to receive additional LTIP units above and beyond the original Award should our performance exceed the higher end of the performance criteria. The performance criteria of the Current Award are based on the attainment of specific FFO per share goals. Because the performance criteria has been met, a maximum of 360,000 LTIP units, or the A units, 360,000 LTIP units, or the B units, and 280,000 LTIP units, or the C units, became earned on December 31, 2015, December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2017, respectively. If the relevant performance criteria had not been achieved, all or a portion of the Current Award would have been forfeited. The earned A units vested on January 1, 2018, earned B units vested on January 1, 2019 and earned C units vested on June 30, 2019. The grant date fair value of the retention award of $120.3 million was recognized as expense over the eight-year term of his employment agreement on a straight-line basis based on the applicable vesting periods of the A units, B units and C units.

We also maintain a tax-qualified retirement 401(k) savings plan and offer no other post-retirement or post-employment benefits to our employees.

Exchange Rights

Simon

Limited partners in the Operating Partnership have the right to exchange all or any portion of their units for shares of common stock on a one-for-one basis or cash, as determined by Simon’s Board of Directors. The amount of cash to be paid if the exchange right is exercised and the cash option is selected will be based on the trading price of Simon’s common stock at that time. At December 31, 2019, Simon had reserved 54,528,976 shares of common stock for possible issuance upon the exchange of units, stock options and Class B common stock.

The Operating Partnership

Limited partners have the right under the partnership agreement to exchange all or any portion of their units for shares of Simon common stock on a one-for-one basis or cash, as determined by Simon in its sole discretion. If Simon selects cash, Simon cannot cause the Operating Partnership to redeem the exchanged units for cash without contributing cash to the Operating Partnership as partners’ equity sufficient to effect the redemption. If sufficient cash is not contributed, Simon will be deemed to have elected to exchange the units for shares of Simon common stock. The amount of cash to be paid if the exchange right is exercised and the cash option is selected will be based on the trading price of Simon’s common stock at that time. The number of shares of Simon’s common stock issued pursuant to the exercise of the exchange right will be the same as the number of units exchanged.