Lowy family to sell its entire stake in Westfield Retail Trust
The broking house UBS has been instructed to sell 214.8 million securities in WRT, at $3.09 apiece. It is currently being undertaken by way of a fixed-price bookbuild.
The sale comes only 24 hours after the joint chief executives, Steven and Peter Lowy, reported an 18 per cent rise in net profit to $1.7 billion for the Westfield group's full-year result.
The spin-off Westfield Retail Trust, which has a 50 per cent stake in the Australian and NZ centres, reported a net profit of $830.8 million for 2012, down from $849.1 million a year earlier, due to a fall in some property valuations. Both groups said the results came amid a tough retail sales environment in Australia, which is being partially offset by a rise in sales in the United States and Britain.
The Lowy family has extensive interests in a range of assets, and has been steadily selling down its direct holdings. In the parent group Westfield it holds about 8 per cent.
Westfield Retail Trust was formed in December 2012 to own a half share in Westfield's 54 shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand, worth about $12 billion.
By separating the businesses, the Westfield Group will focus on developing and upgrading existing centres across the globe, while the trust will manage the Australian and NZ centres.
Westfield Retail Trust's full-year distributable earnings were $572.6 million, 2 per cent on the previous corresponding period and in line with market expectations.
JPMorgan's analysts said Westfield's profit was a solid and predictable result.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
The Lowy family's investment vehicle, run by eldest son David Lowy, is selling its entire 7% stake in the Westfield Retail Trust (WRT) to raise close to $665 million.
UBS has been instructed to sell 214.8 million WRT securities at $3.09 apiece via a fixed-price bookbuild.
The broking house UBS is managing the sale by running a fixed-price bookbuild for the 214.8 million WRT securities.
Westfield Retail Trust was formed in December 2012 to own a 50% stake in Westfield's 54 shopping centres across Australia and New Zealand, with those assets worth about $12 billion.
The spin-off WRT reported a 2012 net profit of $830.8 million, down from $849.1 million a year earlier partly due to some property valuation falls. WRT's full-year distributable earnings were $572.6 million (about 2% on the prior corresponding period). The broader Westfield Group reported an 18% rise in net profit to $1.7 billion.
Both groups said results came amid a tough retail sales environment in Australia, which was partially offset by rising sales in the United States and Britain.
By separating the businesses, the Westfield Group will focus on developing and upgrading existing centres globally, while the Retail Trust will manage the Australian and New Zealand centres.
JPMorgan's analysts described Westfield's profit as a solid and predictable result.
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