UPDATE 1-Brookfield says in talks to aid US mall owner GGP

TORONTO, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Brookfield Asset Management, an investor in global property, says it is in talks with U.S. mall operator General Growth Properties Inc to help it emerge from bankruptcy protection as a single entity.

Denis Couture, a spokesman for the Canadian asset manager, also confirmed to Reuters on Monday that Brookfield has become a significant creditor of General Growth. But he would neither confirm nor deny a report last week that Brookfield had purchased close to $1 billion of General Growth's unsecured debt in recent months.

'There's no denying the fact that we've acquired a very significant stake but we are not commenting on the amount,' Couture said.

'We believe the interests of all stakeholders would be best served if General Growth emerges from bankruptcy protection as a stand-alone company and if it pursues its objective of being a leading mall owner and operator,' he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported recently that Brookfield was buying up unsecured debt in the company to position itself to buy the company or some of its malls.

Brookfield's comments on Monday show its interest is not in a piecemeal selloff of the once mighty mall operator.

Newspaper reports last week said General Growth is also said to be the target of Simon Property Group Inc, which has bought some of General Growth's bank debt and bonds to position itself to take a run at the company.

Brookfield has stakes in property, renewable power and infrastructure worldwide, with about $90 billion of assets under management.

(Reporting by Pav Jordan; editing by Peter Galloway) Keywords: BROOKFIELD GGP/ ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.