Financial Times

French property group Unibail said yesterday that it has the means to buy up more European companies even after its proposed €11bn ($14.7bn) purchase of Dutch company Rodamco that will create Europe’s biggest property company. Financial Times.

The merger with Rodamco will create a company with €22bn portfolio, making it the second largest real estate group in the world after Australia’s Westfield. The merger took the market, which had been expecting Unibail to make a bid for Hammerson, by surprise.

Guillaume Poitrinal, Unibail chief executive, will head the merged group and Robert van Oordt, head of Rodamco’s supervisory board, will be chairman.

The purchase, whereby Unibail is offering 0.53 shares for each Rodamco share, gives the merged company gearing of under 30%. This means there is room for further acquisitions, said Poitrinal. Unibail will take on €3.4bn of debt.

The Rodamco portfolio is focused on large shopping centres, so the merger will shift the balance of Unibail’s portfolio away from offices, which comprise half its estate.

The merged group will be listed on Euronext Paris with a secondary listing in Amsterdam.