Westfield enters trading halt with significant announcement due this Thursday

Westfield enters trading halt with significant announcement due this Thursday
Staff reporterDecember 7, 2020

Australian shopping center company Westfield Corp on Tuesday has entered a trading halt for its shares on the Australian Securities Exchange this morning ahead of an announcement on a potential transaction. 

The company said it was in discussions with unnamed parties for a “potentially significant corporate transaction”, without divulging further information. 

Westfield said it expects to make a related announcement on Thursday.

The early speculation is that the $17 billion company, whose major shareholders include the Lowy family, may be selling some of its non flagship centres.

Or undertaking a tilt at US mall owner GGP or looking to demerge its North American assets, or thinking of a merger of its real estate interests in France.

By early afternoon there was speculation Westfield was set to be taken over by a European shopping centre giant in a takeover deal said to be worth $32.7 billion.

Unibail-Rodamco will take over the ASX-listed company to create a global property giant with 104 malls in 27 retail markets around the world.

Unibail-Rodamco is the largest listed commercial real estate company in Europe and the second-largest globally by value.

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