Europe's Unibail makes $16-bn bid for Westfield to counter online threat

Europe's biggest property firm Unibail-Rodamco is to buy US and UK mall operator Westfield Corp for $16 billion, a defensive move to create a global leader in a sector grappling with the online shopping challenge led by Amazon.

The deal gives Europe-focused Unibail, which owns 'Les 4 Temps' and 'Forum des Halles" in Paris and has centres spreading from Helsinki to Valencia, exposure to the United States and Britain, where Westfield operates 35 malls, including landmark premises in London.

Under its Australian billionaire chairman and co-founder Frank Lowy, Westfield has pioneered US mall redevelopment, introducing upscale food courts, high-end restaurants, bars, cinemas and boutique fashion outlets to entice shoppers.

Talks to seal a deal had taken just six weeks, said Lowy whose family will no longer run the company he set up in 1960 but will end up with a 2.8 per cent stake in the combined group.

Lowy said it made sense to sell because Unibail offered a "very good price", but acknowledged that the sale partly reflected global consolidation and the pressure on retailers.