Mills Explores Possible Sale

Mall developer Mills Corp. announced Thursday that it had hired financial advisors to explore a possible sale of the company and is cutting jobs as part of a corporate restructuring.

The restructuring will result in the loss of 77 jobs. The company -- which owns 42 properties in the U.S., Canada and Europe, including the Block at Orange and Del Amo Fashion Center -- employs about 1,100.

The Arlington, Va.-based real estate investment trust has been forced to restate and lower its profit in recent months. Mills said it didn’t expect to meet a March 16 deadline for completion of its 2005 annual report. It warned that prior earnings guidance for 2005 is no longer reliable and that earnings will be much lower than market expectations.

The company said it hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Securities Inc. to “explore strategic alternatives” and a sale of all or part of the company is under consideration.

Shares fell 20 cents to $41.13 before the announcement.