Affiliates of Starwood Capital Group have reached agreement with Australian shopping centre group Westfield to acquire seven shopping centres in the US for $1.6 bn (鈧�1.2 bn).
Affiliates of Starwood Capital Group have reached agreement with Australian shopping centre group Westfield to acquire seven shopping centres in the US for $1.6 bn (鈧�1.2 bn).
Westfield said the sale is part of an initative to divest non-core assets. Westfield Group co-CEO Peter Lowy said: 'Today鈥檚 announcement continues the implementation of our strategic plan which positions WDC to generate greater shareholder value.'
'We are focused on redeploying our capital into superior retail destinations in major cities through divesting non-core assets and introducing joint venture partners into our high-quality portfolio of assets.'
The portfolio comprises 734,000 m2 of lettable area across three centres in Ohio, two in California and one each in Washington State and Indiana.
Starwood will own and manage the majority interest in the centres with Westfield retaining a 10% common equity interest.
The transaction value of $1.64 bn is $120 mln below the book value of the assets at end-December 2012 and in line with the book values at end-June 2013.
The transactions are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013, after which WDC will own and operate 40 centres in the US.
