Weeks after the $1 billion renovation of Westfield Century City, Frank Lowy has sold his nationwide malls to a French real state company.
Westfield Corp., which operates malls in the Los Angeles area, around the nation and in Britain, is being sold to French commercial real estate giant Unibail Rodamco in a $16 billion deal.
The cash-and-stock deal values shares of Australia-based Westfield at $7.55 a share, an 18 percent premium over Monday’s closing price, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Westfield’s 16 California locations include its Century City shopping center, which recently completed a $1 billion makeover. The company also owns Westfield Culver City, Westfield Topanga, Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks, Westfield Valencia Town Center in Santa Clarita, as well as Westfield Mission Valley, Westfield Horton Plaza and Westfield UTC malls in San Diego.
“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,” said Christophe Cuvillier, CEO of Unibail-Rodamco, in a statement.
Unibail-Rodamco owns and operates 69 shopping centers in Europe including in Paris, Madrid, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Munich. The company also is developing malls in Brussels and Hamburg, Germany.
Australian billionaire Sir Frank Lowy founded Westfield with just one store in Sydney, Australia, in 1960, eventually turning it into a global shopping empire. Lowy is set to joing Unibail-Rodamco’s advisory board, but will not take an active role in the company.
