Australia’s Westfield to split Holdings

This comes after a tight vote which placed a spotlight on the restructuring policy. The split which was announced during December will see the group’s Australian and New Zealand businesses merge with Westfield Retail Trust. This move will result in Westfield Retail Trust becoming a US$26bn corporation which will be listed on the Australian stock market by its new name, Scentre.

Westfield Group will in future be named Westfield Corporation, with total assets of US$17.6bn and holdings in 44 shopping centres across Europe, the UK and the US.

The shareholder vote for the deal settled at 76%, only 1% above the minimum 75% required. A vote done previously was postponed after indications that the limit would not be met. Almost 98% of the group’s shareholders voted in favour of the deal during May.

Frank Lowy, Westfield Group Chairman, will head both companies and stated his confidence in the deal. The Chairman of Westfield Retail Trust, Richard Warburton, also expressed his pleasure at the result.