Unibail To Buy Rival Rodamco for $15B

PARIS-In a staggering deal that amounts to the largest shopping center splurge in the continent’s history, French real estate giant Uniball Holding SA is buying out rival Rodamco Europe NV for $14.8 billion. Slated to close in June, the union will create a portfolio of 95 retail centers encompassing 35.5 million square feet in such markets as France, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

“The new company will play the role of market leader in various European geographic areas,” says Uniball CEO Guillaume Poitrinal, in a statement. “Capitalizing on the complementary strengths of both companies, we will be able to seize new growth opportunities and deliver enhanced returns to our shareholders.” The existing retail owned by both companies services 700 consumers annually, and the merger provides rights to develop more than one msf of additional retail space, Unibail estimates.

As part of the exchange offer, Rodamco investors will be paid a 15% premium to the stock price as of closing on April 5. That amounts to a common share capital value of 11.2 billion euros, or about 124.8 euros per share as of that date. PGGM, the owner of the largest block with 25% of Rodamco shares, has expressed “strong support” for the takeover, officials involved in the merger maintain in filed documents.