Simon Property Group Inc. has made a more than $10 billion offer for Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc. (GGP), which owns Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines, according to a Simon release.

The deal would unite the country’s biggest mall owner, Simon, with the country’s No. 2, General Growth, which owns or manages 200 shopping malls in 44 states.

General Growth became the largest real estate company to file for bankruptcy in U.S. history last April after accumulating $27 billion in debt. The company at the time had about $11.8 billion in debt that had matured or was set to mature by the end of 2012. (see the story)

According to the release, Simon’s offer includes approximately $9 billion in cash and would provide a 100 percent cash recovery of par value plus accrued interest and dividends to all of General Growth’s unsecured creditors, the holders of its trust preferred securities, the lenders under its credit facility, the holders of its Exchangeable Senior Notes and the holders of Rouse bonds.

General Growth shareholders would receive more than $9 per General Growth share, consisting of $6 per share in cash and a distribution of General Growth’s ownership interest in the Master Planned Community assets valued by General Growth at more than $3 per share.

The deal was formally proposed more than a week ago to the CEO and financial advisers at General Growth, according to a letter included in the release to the board of directors at General Growth from David Simon, Simon’s chairman of the board and CEO.

“We have not received a substantive response to this offer from GGP or its advisors, nor any indication that you are prepared to enter into serious discussions so as to make our offer available to your shareholders and creditors,” Simon wrote. “Accordingly, we are today making our offer public. The official committee of unsecured creditors of GGP strongly supports our offer and will encourage GGP to engage with Simon without delay, so as to allow our proposed transaction to be made available to GGP’s creditors and shareholders, and GGP to achieve a prompt and successful conclusion to its reorganization proceedings.”

Read the full release.