Listed French retail specialist Klépierre has mounted a formal takeover bid for Dutch peer Corio, which, if approved by shareholders in December, will be finalised in the first or second quarter of 2015.

Listed French retail specialist Klépierre has mounted a formal takeover bid for Dutch peer Corio, which, if approved by shareholders in December, will be finalised in the first or second quarter of 2015.

The proposed merger will take the form of a takeover by Klépierre of all Corio’s shares at an exchange ratio of 1.14 new Klépierre shares for each Corio share, valuing the company at €7.2 bn including debt. The tie-up has the unanimous support of Corio’s management and supervisory boards as well as its largest shareholder APG. It is also backed by Klépierre’s largest shareholders Simon Property Group and BNP Paribas.

The merger, which was first announced in July, will be put to the vote at two extraordinary shareholders’ meetings on 8 December for Corio and 11 December for Klépierre. If approved, the operation will create the second-largest listed retail company in Europe with gross assets of over €21 bn. Market leader Unibail-Rodamco has €26.8 bn of shopping centre assets.

In a joint statement, Klépierre and Corio said they intend to further integrate their businesses following the completion of merger, with Klépierre as the ‘surviving entity’ and Corio as the ‘disappearing entity’. Corio's listing on Euronext Amsterdam will be terminated once the merger has been finalised.

Klépierre said it has obtained clearance for the merger from the competition authorities in Turkey - where Corio has seven operational shopping centres - and is in the process of seeking other required regulatory approvals.

The operation will also result in leadership changes, with Corio’s current CEO Gerard Groener and CFO Ben van der Klift both resigning their roles.

Klépierre's executive board following the merger will consist of Laurent Morel as CEO, Jean-Michel Gault and Jean-Marc Jestin as CFO and COO respectively and David Armitage, currently head of investment strategy at Corio.

Until the merger is finalised, Corio will be led by Jean-Marc Jestin and Bruno Valentin as CEO and CFO respectively, with Frédéric Fontaine continuing to serve as chief development officer.