Westfield bulks up for expansion
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Australian mall tycoon Frank Lowy is merging the listed arms of his Westfield shopping center group to prepare for more offshore expansion.
Westfield already has Aust. $34 billion ($25 billion) of assets under management in 123 shopping centers in Australia, the United States, New Zealand and the UK.
More than half of those centers are in the United States.
Lowy, a billionaire entrepreneur who started the Westfield group in 1960, unveiled the restructure plan in Sydney Thursday.
Three of the group's listed entities -- Westfield Holdings, Westfield Trust and Westfield America Trust -- will come together under the Westfield Group name.
Lowy said the proposed merger would create the world's largest listed retail property group and would give it the scale to go after global growth opportunities.
He said it would also have improved access to capital at a lower cost.
The merged Westfield Group will be the eighth largest entity on the Australian Stock Exchange with a market capitalization expected to be more than A$22 billion ($16.3 billion).
"The rationale for the proposal is all about growth -- to create a global operating and financial structure to match global opportunities," Lowy said in a statement Thursday.
If shareholders of the three listed companies approve the proposal, it will take effect in July.
According to Lowy's statement, the group will generate distributions of more than A$1.7 billion in its first year of operations to June 2005.
Share trading in Westfield Group companies was halted on the Australia Stock Exchange Wednesday morning ahead of the announcement.
