Westfield shopping centres to be bought by France's Unibail-Rodamco
Shopping centre owner Westfield has accepted a US$24.7bn (£18.5bn) takeover offer from European rival Unibail-Rodamco as part of a wave of sector consolidation that saw UK rivals agree a similar merger last week.
Unibail Rodamco Nv
€197.10
16:30 01/09/22
Westfield Corp
$0.00
00:20 15/10/20
The board of directors of Australia's Westfield Corporation unanimously recommended an offer than combined cash and
shares in Paris-headquartered Unibail-Rodamco to value Westfield at $7.55 a share, representing a premium of 17.8% to Westfield’s closing share price overnight.
Combined, the enlarged group will have a €61bn (£54bn) portfolio of 104 properties in 27 retail markets and cities around the globe, including Westfield London in Shepherds Bush and Westfield Stratford near the Olympic park.
Unibail-Rodamco is Europe's largest listed commercial property company, with a portfolio of assets valued at €42.5bn and a portfolio of 69 shopping centres, including Les Quatre Temps and Les Halles in Paris.
The mega-merger casts significant shade over last week's UK deal where FTSE 100-listed Hammerson agreed to buy shopping centre rival Intu Properties in a £3.4bn all-share deal to create a £21bn portfolio focused on the UK and continental Europe.
Westfield, which was founded by Sir Frank Lowy in the 1950s after he fled Nazi-occupied Hungary during World War II, was a target for Unibail in 2014 but a deal could not be agreed.
Christophe Cuvillier, chief executive of the Paris group, said: “The acquisition of Westfield is a natural extension of Unibail-Rodamco’s strategy of concentration, differentiation and innovation. It adds a number of new attractive retail markets in London and the wealthiest catchment areas in the United States."
Lowy said the deal was culmination of a "strategic journey" for Westfield since a 2014 restructure, when assets in Australia and New Zealand were spun off into the separately-listed Scentre Group.
"We see this transaction as highly compelling for Westfield’s securityholders and Unibail-Rodamco’s shareholders alike," Lowy said. "Unibail-Rodamco’s track record makes it the natural home for the legacy of Westfield’s brand and business. We look forward to seeing Westfield continue to grow as part of the world’s premier owner of flagship shopping destinations.”
Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said "another day, another huge merger in the shopping centre industry" and noted the talk of run-rate synergies of €100m a year and the progressive roll-out of the Westfield brand "in the group's flagship shopping destinations".