On October 8, 2003, we and Westfield America, Inc. (“Westfield”), the U.S. subsidiary of Westfield America Trust,  withdrew our tender offer for the outstanding common shares of Taubman Centers, Inc. The withdrawal of the tender  offer followed the enactment of a law, which amended the Michigan Control Share Acquisitions Act and which allowed  the Taubman family group to effectively block our ability to conclude the tender offer. As a result we expensed deferred  acquisition costs of $10.6 million, net, related to this acquisition during 2003.  We invested approximately $292 million in development and redevelopment/expansion opportunities in 2003. Our  openings in 2003 were highlighted by the opening of Las Vegas Premium Outlets in Las Vegas, NV consisting of 435,000  square feet of GLA and the expansion of the Galleria in Houston, TX consisting of 696,000 square feet of GLA. We expect  to invest in excess of $450 million in 2004 on development and redevelopment/expansion opportunities, highlighted by the  opening of the phase three expansion of Forum Shops.  We lowered our overall borrowing rates by 27 basis points during the year as a result of our financing activities related  to indebtedness. Our financing activities were highlighted by three significant transactions:  Finally, we increased our presence in Europe and expanded our relationships with Europe’s leading retailers through our  partnership with The Rinascente Group, an Italian retailer company. We jointly formed the joint venture Gallerie Commerciali  Italia S.p.A (“GCI”), which owns a geographically diverse portfolio in Italy of 38 shopping centers as of December 31, 2003  and all but one of which are anchored by hypermarkets. The Rinascente Group contributed these 38 existing shopping  centers as well as development opportunities to GCI and then sold 49% of GCI to us. The initial gross value of GCI was  approximately  € 860 million and our initial equity investment was approximately  € 187 million, or $232 million. Based upon current business and market conditions, we expect to maintain similar operating trends in 2004.  The Portfolio data discussed in this overview includes the following key operating statistics: occupancy; average base  rent per square foot; and comparable sales per square foot. We include acquired Properties in this data beginning in the year  of acquisition and we do not include any Properties located outside of North America. The following table sets forth these  key operating statistics for:  Portfolio Data ● We issued $500.0 million of unsecured notes on March 18, 2003 at a weighted average fixed interest rate  of 5.11% and weighted average term of 8.2 years. We used the net proceeds of $498.7 million primarily to  reduce borrowings on our Credit Facility. ● We negotiated a $550.0 million leasehold financing for Forum Shops at a fixed-rate at 4.78% for a term  of 7 years. This financing replaces a $175.0 million mortgage that was effectively fixed at 6.67% including  interest rate protection agreements. In addition, this financing generated excess proceeds of approximately  $371.0 million that we used to unencumber one asset and for general corporate purposes. ● The holders of all but 18,340 shares of our 4.3 million shares of 6.5% Series B Convertible Preferred Stock  called for redemption on December 15, 2003, exercised their right to convert their preferred stock into our  common stock prior to redemption. We issued approximately 11.1 million shares of common stock to those  holders who exercised their conversion rights. ● Properties that we control and which are consolidated in our consolidated financial statements,  ● Properties which we do not control that we account for under the equity method as unconsolidated joint  ventures, and ● the foregoing two categories of Properties on a total Portfolio basis.  27 2003 annual report