Blackstone close to joining General Growth

Blackstone Group LP is in talks to invest with Brookfield Asset Management Inc. in a plan to bring mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. out of bankruptcy, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

Blackstone would contribute $500 million toward the $7 billion in equity Brookfield and partners Fairholme Capital Management LLC and Pershing Square Capital Management LP pledged in bankruptcy court earlier this month, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks aren't public.

Blackstone would receive a 5 percent stake in General Growth and a seat on its board, the people said. The deal could be agreed to as soon as next week, they said.

The negotiations were reported earlier today by the Wall Street Journal.

Katherine Vyse, a Brookfield spokeswoman, declined to comment. David Keating, a General Growth spokesman, didn't immediately respond to e-mail and telephone messages seeking comment. Peter Rose, a spokesman for Blackstone, also declined to comment for this story.