General Growth Properties has reaffirmed its preference for a reorganization deal with Brookfield Asset Management over the plan proposed by rival Simon Property Group. Several newspapers, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, have reported that over the weekend General Growth's board voted in favor of Brookfield becoming the stalking horse bidder in its reorganization. The vote came after Brookfield upped its bid to $10.50 per share from a previously offered $10 per share and agreed to vest its warrants over a period of time rather than all at once. The issue of the stalking horse bidder will be decided at a bankruptcy court hearing scheduled for May 5. That still leaves Simon time to raise its bid, but it would have to up the price considerably to snatch the deal from Brookfield, according to Todd Sullivan, of the Value Plays blog.