France's Unibail-Rodamco bids $24.7 billion for Australia's Westfield
SYDNEY/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - France’s Unibail-Rodamco (UNBP.AS) has agreed to buy shopping mall owner Westfield Corp (WFD.AX) for $24.7 billion including debt, in what would be the biggest takeover of an Australian company on record.
FILE PHOTO: The sign of Westfield shopping center is pictured in San Diego, California September 10, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
Westfield, which owns and operates 35 shopping centers in the United States and United Kingdom valued at $32 billion, said the transaction was “highly compelling” for Westfield and Unibail-Rodamco’s shareholders.
“Unibail-Rodamco’s track record makes it the natural home for the legacy of Westfield’s brand and business,” Westfield Chairman and co-founder Frank Lowy said in a statement.
Unibail-Rodamco said putting the two companies together would create a global property leader with $72 billion of gross market value, strategically positioned in 27 of the world’s most attractive retail markets.
Westfield’s flagship malls include Westfield London, where it is working on a 600,000 pound ($800,000) expansion, and Century City in Los Angeles, where it is completing a $1 billion overhaul.
It also has stakes in 18 suburban U.S. shopping centers, three of which it wholly owns.
Unibail Rodamco said Westfield shareholders would receive a combination of cash and shares, valuing Westfield at $7.55, or A$10.01 a share, an 18 percent premium to Westfield’s last trade.
Shares in Westfield were halted earlier on Tuesday pending the announcement, having last traded at A$8.50.