Giganti del retail , Unibail-Rodamco acquisisce Westfield Corporation

Unibail-Rodamco SE  and Westfield Corporation  announce that Unibail-Rodamco has entered into an agreement to acquire Westfield to create the world’s premier developer and operator of flagship shopping destinations (the “Group”). The proposed transaction (the “Transaction”) has been unanimously recommended by Westfield’s Board of Directors and Unibail-Rodamco’s Supervisory Board.

Under the terms of the agreement, Westfield securityholders will receive a combination of cash and shares in Unibail-Rodamco2, valuing each Westfield security at a price of US$7.55 (or A$10.01)3 and representing a premium of 17.8% to Westfield’s closing security price on December 11, 2017. The Transaction implies an enterprise value for Westfield of US$24.7 billion4.

The business combination is a unique value proposition for both Unibail-Rodamco shareholders and Westfield securityholders, who will benefit from:

 The creation of a global property leader with €61.1 billion (US$72.2 billion) of Gross Market Value (“GMV”)5, strategically positioned in 27 of the world’s most attractive retail markets and cities ;

 A unique platform of 104 assets6 attracting 1.2 billion visits annually, creating a must-have partner for all global retailers and brands across Europe and select markets in the United States. 56 of the 104 assets, representing 84% of the combined GMV, are flagship shopping destinations ;

 The progressive roll-out of the world famous Westfield brand in the Group’s flagship shopping destinations ;

 Strong organic long-term growth prospects through the world’s largest development pipeline of €12.3 billion7 focused on flagship assets in key markets ;

 A value creating transaction, which Unibail-Rodamco expects to be accretive to its recurring earnings per share in the first full year8, with expected run-rate synergies of €100 million per annum9 ;

 A robust balance sheet, with an expected credit rating in the “A” category post Transaction and an expected pro forma Loan-To-Value (“LTV”)10 of 39% as at June 30, 201711, well within Unibail-Rodamco’s historical objective of between 35% and 45%

Source :  Joint  Press  Release