Press Release: Taubman Asia Announces Megabox as the Third Anchor Signed for Songdo IBD Shopping Center

HONG KONG, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Taubman Asia, a subsidiary ofU.S. mall REIT, Taubman Centers, Inc. (NYSE: TCO), today officially announcedthat cinema multiplex leader Megabox, has signed as the cinema operator andthird anchor tenant in Songdo Shopping Center situated in the heart of themaster-planned Songdo International Business District (Songdo IBD), Incheon,Korea. Songdo IBD is being developed by New York headquartered GaleInternational and Korea's Posco E&C.

(Logo: [www.newscom.com] )

"This is the third major anchor signing to be completed for SongdoShopping Center, following the announcement of Lotte Department Store back inApril, and Tesco Homeplus in September," said Morgan Parker, president ofTaubman Asia, the manager and developer of Songdo Shopping Center.

"We are thrilled to secure Megabox as an anchor tenant. Megabox is widelyrecognized in Korea as the premier provider of big screen entertainment,"Parker said.

The Megabox multiplex at the Songdo Shopping Center will feature ninetheaters with seating for approximately 1,900 patrons. One of the ninetheaters will be "M Class," Megabox's up-market, luxury experience, featuringa large format screen and superior sound system.

"The Megabox deal is a significant milestone for this project, as it isthe first lifestyle/entertainment provider for the shopping center in SongdoIBD," added Parker. "This is in keeping with our vision of developing aleisure lifestyle and entertainment destination, in addition to a retailcomplex of international standards. The Megabox complex will perfectly augmentthe international luxury lifestyle shopping and amenities planned for theshopping center."

The two-level enclosed international style shopping center, designed byglobally renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, with interior design by Benoy,will be the first of its kind in Korea. It is being developed as an integratedspace and includes a Lotte Department Store, a Tesco Homeplus hypermarket, aMegabox multiplex cinema, a food emporium, an ice rink, and approximately 150specialty stores.

About Taubman Asia

Taubman Asia is a subsidiary of Taubman Centers -- a global leader of theshopping center industry. Taubman Asia focuses on owning, managing,developing and acquiring high-quality and sustainable retail real estateprojects in Asia that leverage Taubman's strong retail planning, design andoperational capabilities.

Taubman Centers is a real estate investment trust engaged in thedevelopment and management of regional and super regional shopping centers.Taubman's 24 U.S. owned and/or managed properties, the most productive in theindustry, serve major markets from coast to coast. Taubman Centers isheadquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. For more information aboutTaubman, visit www.taubman.com .

About Megabox

Loews Cineplex Entertainment and Mediaplex, an Orion Group Company, set upMegabox Cineplex, a joint venture company on November 16, 1999 and opened thebiggest multiplex cinema in Asia at Coex Mall, Seoul, on May 13, 2000. KMICInc., a Macquarie Consortium, acquired Megabox in August 2007 and beganseeking expansion into new areas.

Megabox leads in cinema marketing through innovative new systems such asmembership services, different ticket prices for different show times, and hasproactively met new trends to service customer demands (e.g. one-day-earlierthan premiere, ticket reservation with seat choice, et al). In 2006, Megaboxopened its first M Class, offering patrons the chance to view bigger screens,listen to better sound, and the variable seating options.

About Gale International

Gale International is a premier international real estate investment anddevelopment company with headquarters in New York and offices in Boston;Irvine, California; Seoul and Songdo, South Korea.

About Songdo International Business District

Songdo International Business District, the "Gateway to Northeast Asia,"is being developed by New York headquartered Gale International and Posco E&C.Songdo International Business District (IBD) officially opens August 2009, asthe first "new" city in the world designed and planned as an internationalbusiness district. The U.S. $35 billion, 100 million square foot master-planned metropolis will include forty-five million square feet of officespace, thirty million square feet of residential space, ten million squarefeet of retail, five million square feet of hotel space and ten million squarefeet of public space. When fully completed in 2015, Songdo IBD will be hometo 65,000 people and 300,000 will work there. Songdo IBD is located withinthe Incheon Free Economic Zone.

Songdo IBD will offer every conceivable amenity including a world-classhospital, an international preparatory school, a 100-acre Central Park, a 1.1million square foot premium retail mall and a championship 18-hole golfcourse, the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. Songdo IBD will be 40 percent greenspace, and is being designed and constructed to ensure long-term environmentalsustainability, thus minimizing the city's carbon footprint. Songdo IBD wasnamed a "green urbanism" pilot project by the U.S. Green Building Council.

This new metropolis will be connected to the Incheon InternationalAirport, one of the world's busiest, by a 7.4 mile highway bridge, and linkedby subway to Seoul and its surrounding suburbs. Day travel is easy to Chinaand Japan's major business centers. More than one third of the world'spopulation lives within a three and a half hour flying radius. Additionalinformation can be found at www.songdo.com .

For ease of use, references in this press release to "Taubman Centers,""Taubman Asia" or "Taubman" mean Taubman Centers, Inc. or one or more of anumber of separate, affiliated entities. Business is actually conducted by anaffiliated entity rather than Taubman Centers, Inc. itself.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within themeaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statementsreflect management's current views with respect to future events and financialperformance. Actual results may differ materially from those expected becauseof various risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to changes ingeneral economic and real estate conditions, changes in the interest rateenvironment and the availability of financing, and adverse changes in theretail industry. Other risks and uncertainties are discussed in the company'sfilings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its most recentAnnual Report on Form 10-K.

Source: PRNewsWire

More on TCO:

Gurus buys and sells of TCO
10-year financial history of TCO.
Insider buys/sells of TCO.

Gurus who own TCO