An investor day for disgruntled Westfield Retail Trust shareholders has been set for April 2, hosted by Westfield Group CFO Peter Allen and the executive team of the Australia and New Zealand operations which are to be spun off under a proposed merger.
The invite has been extended to investors and analysts of WRT and Westfield Group, who will be given a presentation on the proposed Australia/NZ platform at the Westfield Miranda shopping centre in Sydney's south.
Investors are unsure what the key agenda of the April 2 investor day is at this stage but it should be a chance for a good debate over the pricing of the proposal and an attempt to assuage critics. Westfield chiefs Peter and Steven Lowy have held firm on the form of the restructure despite widespread conviction in the market the deal will have to be reworked to be more attractive to WRT shareholders.
Westfield announced in December that it was splitting its operations, a proposal which requires 75 per cent shareholder approval at a vote in May. Its Australian and New Zealand properties will be housed in a new vehicle, Scentre Group, headed by Allen. The lucrative US shopping malls, and properties in the UK and Europe, will be under the Westfield Corporation banner.
An explanatory memorandum on the merger and an independent expert’s report are set to be released late next month.