Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Australian Retirement Trust (ART) will acquire a near 20% stake in Scentre Group's iconic Westfield Sydney shopping mall for A$864 million ($575.68 million), the shopping centre owner said on Tuesday.
The sale price matches the property's value in Scentre's books, as of June 2025, and follows an aggregate 50% stake sale in Brisbane's Westfield Chermside to property developer Dexus for a total of A$1.3 billion over this year.
Westfield Sydney, located in the central business district,
houses approximately 270 local and international premium retail stores and attracts more than 33 million customers annually, the firm said.
The Sydney-based shopping centre owner, which owns and operates 42 Westfield malls, mostly in Australia, said its net investment in Westfield Sydney now stands at A$900 million, with its remaining 80.1% interest valued at A$3.5 billion, representing a fourfold jump since its acquisition.
Scentre's shares were trading largely flat at A$4.205, as of 0443 GMT, compared with a 1% gain in the ASX 200 benchmark index.
The stake sale frees up fresh capital and aligns with the group's push to convert land holdings into large-scale housing projects. The group plans to utilise its 670 hectares of land holdings to deliver more than 5,000 new homes.
As of August, the group had received rezoning approvals for Westfield Hornsby in Sydney and Westfield Belconnen in Canberra, which allow for the development of more than 4,000 residential units in aggregate.
"We have the potential to make a significant contribution to housing supply at our locations across Australia and New Zealand," Scentre said in its 2024 annual report issued in February.
($1 = 1.5008 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
