Unibail-Rodamco, Europe's largest shopping centre landlord, has been given the green light to take over its Sydney-listed peer Westfield by the Australian competition authorities.
The treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia said there was 'no objection under the Foreign Acquisitions & Takeovers Act 1975 to Unibail-Rodamco's proposed acquisition of Westfield'.
The $24 bn (€21 bn) merger will create a global retail property leader with €61.1 bn of gross market value, located in 27 of the world's retail markets and cities in the US, UK and continental Europe.
Unibail-Rodamco has also been informed that Euronext's independent review board has confirmed the eligibility of the new group to be listed on the CAC and AEX indices in Paris and Amsterdam respectively.
The deal, which was unanimously recommended by Westfield's board of directors as well as by Unibail-Rodamco's management board, remains subject to the approval of Unibail-Rodamco shareholders and Westfield security-holders.
The deal is expected to close in mid-2018, with Unibail-Rodamco chief Christophe Cuvillier becoming group CEO, and Westfield's Colin Dyer as group chairman of the supervisory board.
