Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is betting against the retail apocalypse with its takeover of GGP Inc., slated to close Tuesday.

The Toronto-based firm is paying about $15 billion for the second-largest mall owner in the U.S. as investors — and shoppers — shun brick-and-mortar retail. Brookfield, which already owned a third of GGP, was the only bidder that showed up when the company put itself on the block last year.