General Growth Properties Inc remained in talks on Sunday with bondholders it was trying to persuade to accept reduced terms, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The weekend talks came after a second deadline for bondholders to agree to the so-called consent solicitation passed Friday afternoon without the desired percentage of bondholders signing on, the Journal reported on its website on Sunday.

General Growth has said it may have to file for bankruptcy protection if it cannot refinance its debt.

Earlier this month, the second largest U.S. mall owner was seeking to restructure $2.25 billion of bonds, offering bondholders a percentage on their bonds if they allowed the company to skip interest payments and principal until the end of the year.

But the company failed to garner the support it needed from holders of these notes from Rouse Co, which General Growth acquired in 2004.

General Growth, which operates more than 200 U.S. malls, has $1.18 billion in past due debt. It also had an additional $4.09 billion of debt that could be accelerated by its lenders.

Last week, a Citigroup Inc unit filed to foreclose a General Growth-owned shopping center in a New Orleans suburb after the mall operator failed to repay a $95 million loan.

The foreclosure will not trigger cross default provisions allowing other General Growth lenders whose loans aren't already past due to demand immediate payment, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

A General Growth spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Anupreeta Das; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

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