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westfield group

Lowy family agrees $16bn Westfield sale to focus on investments

December 13, 2017

One of Australia’s most prominent business families is to sell down its stake in the iconic mall operator they grew from the Western suburbs of Sydney to 35 sites across the US and Europe.

One of Australia’s most prominent business families is to sell down its stake in the iconic mall operator they grew from the Western suburbs of Sydney to 35 sites across the US and Europe.

Founder Frank Lowy, 87, and his family have agreed to sell most of its stake in Westfield Corporation in a $16 billion deal with French retail giant Unibail-Rodamco – Australia’s largest ever takeover.

Split of Westfield Group lets Lowy family focus on international business

June 20, 2014

Multi-billion dollar family-controlled shopping mall chain Westfields has only just gained enough shareholder votes to split the group into two independent companies.

Multi-billion dollar family-controlled shopping mall chain Westfields has only just gained enough shareholder votes to split the group into two independent companies.

Westfield Group currently has 87 properties across Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, but under the restructure the business’s Australasian assets will merge with the Westfield Retail Trust (WRT) to form the Scentre Group.

The split leaves Westfield Group, controlled by the Lowy family, to focus on its international business.

Infographic: Australian family businesses

May 12, 2014

Australian family businesses have enjoyed local and
international success, but closer to home they are
facing a succession squeeze and a government that
is slow to show its support.

Australian family firms have certainly produced some larger-than-life businesspeople. Gina Rinehart, the wealthiest person in Australia, owes her fortune to Hancock Prospecting – the mining company founded by her father. She is consistently in the national, and often international, headlines for her anti-environmental business agenda and support for lower wages. This is in addition to her on-going, and very public, feud with her children over the governance of the family trust that manages the family’s wealth.

Westfield invests in World Trade Center

December 5, 2013

Australian family retail empire Westfield Group has announced it will retake full control of the retail space at New York’s World Trade Center – 10 years after it sold the retail concourse of the original site, in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Westfield, controlled by the Lowy family of Australia, repurchased a 50% stake in the retail part of the lower Manhattan site in July 2011, and announced in a statement this week that it would pay $800 million (€587 million) to buy the remaining stake.

Second generation takes control at Westfield

May 26, 2011

Frank Lowy, founder of the world’s biggest shopping centre chain Westfield, has stepped down as chief executive of the company and will be succeeded by his two sons.

In a statement made during the group’s annual general meeting on 25 May, Lowy announced that he will become non-executive chairman, while his sons Peter Lowy and Steven Lowy will become joint chief executive officers.