Sporting connections keep on giving when it comes to securing major business deals.
That was demonstrated again yesterday with the Westfield restructure, where there are soccer ties between Rothschild banking head Robert Leitao and the shopping centre giant's founding chairman Frank Lowy.
Working on the deal to merge Westfield Group's Australasian operations with Westfield Retail Trust have been investment banks UBS, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, as well as Rothschild.
Some say it raises the question about whether the soccer connection was a major factor.
Leitao is head of Rothschild's global financial advisory business, based in Britain, and also on the board of the English Premier League soccer club Manchester United.
Lowy is chairman of Football Federation Australia.
Rothschild was on the deal for Westfield Group with JPMorgan, while WRT was advised by UBS and Morgan Stanley.
UBS Australia chief executive Matthew Grounds and its head of investment banking, Guy Fowler, are believed to have the WRT links for the bank, while at Morgan Stanley, the relationship with the company is with David Dixon, the bank's real estate head.
At JPMorgan, it is the head of investment banking, Grant Dempsey, who has the Lowy family relationship, sources told The Australian.
The cost of the overall deal is $100m-$150m, but the carve-up of the fees among the bankers would only be a small proportion of that amount, a source said.