In 1996, Simon DeBartolo Group was created when Simon Property merged with former rival DeBartolo Realty Corp. This was shortly after DeBartolo Realty became a publicly-traded company encompassing the shopping mall interests of the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. family, another leading developer. Simon DeBartolo rapidly acquired assets in the then-fragmented industry. Notable acquisitions included The Retail Property Trust and a group of properties held by IBM's pension plan in 1997 and Corporate Property Investors (CPI) in 1998. Following the CPI acquisition in 1998, the company announced it was reverting to its original name, Simon Property Group, as the DeBartolo family was resuming its private real-estate development operation while retaining their interest in Simon.