* Unibail-Rodamco SE's US$15.68 billion proposed takeover of Westfield Corp. was accepted by approximately 97.55% of the Australia-based retail operator's shareholders. Upon completion of the deal, Unibail will have a pro forma market cap of €31.1 billion and the world's largest development pipeline of €12.3 billion.
* Following approval from the Federal Court of Australia, AccorHotels' A$1.18 billion takeover of Australia-listed Mantra Group Ltd. became legally effective May 23. The merger scheme will be implemented May 31 through the French hotelier's AAPC Ltd. subsidiary.
UK and Ireland
* Capital & Counties Properties PLC is considering a demerger to create two separately listed businesses based on its prime central London estates of Covent Garden and Earls Court. Following the decision, Ian Durant will resign as chairman and will be succeeded by Henry Staunton, the current senior independent director, effective June 5.
* NewRiver REIT acquired U.K. pubs owner Hawthorn Leisure Holdings Ltd. from an affiliate of Avenue Capital Group for an enterprise value of £106.8 million. The company, confirming media reports, noted earlier this week that it had entered into an exclusivity period for the acquisition. Hawthorn Leisure holds a portfolio of 298 prime community pubs, expanding NewRiver REIT’s portfolio to 629 pubs following the deal.
* Supermarket Income REIT PLC said its issuance of up to 64,356,435 new ordinary shares at 101 pence apiece was oversubscribed. The company is looking to raise gross proceeds of £65 million via a planned placing of 59,846,665 shares and an offer for subscription option of 4,509,770 shares.
* AEW UK Investment is placing its entire South East Office Fund on the market for £146 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.7%, Property Week reported. The value-added opportunistic fund, which comprises 12 building in the U.K., was launched in the first quarter of 2014, with a fund life of five years.
* Aviva Investors is under contract to buy the 40 Spring Gardens building in Manchester’s business district from Impax Asset Management for a sum understood to be roughly £55 million, PW reported. The 100,000-square-foot building houses Lloyds Banking Group, Aon and Aldermore Bank, as well as retail tenants on the ground floor.
* Construction company Bouygues and the Cardiff University are in final talks for the third phase of the university project, Construction Enquirer reported. Plans for the £135 million phase three include a new translation facility, an innovation center and a new pedestrian bridge.
* World Wheel Co. intends to build the tallest observation wheel in Europe in Newcastle Quayside in the U.K. under a £100 million development project, PW reported. The 140-meter high wheel will also feature the world's largest LED digital screen at more than 107,000 square feet.
Aside from the wheel, the project includes restaurants, a family entertainment center, a multipurpose sports complex, a virtual golf club and approximately 100,000 square feet of virtual reality space.
* House prices in London decreased 0.7% year over year in March in an ongoing downward trend carried on from February, London's Financial Times reported, citing the U.K. Office for National Statistics. The decline in March is reportedly the worst performance for the capital since the 3.2% year-over-year fall in September 2009, the report added.
* The Comer Group has sold the 190,000-square-foot Beckett Building leased to Facebook Inc. in the north Dublin docklands to South Korea-based Kookman Bank for €101 million, The Irish Times reported. Comer bought the building in 2013 for €5 million while it was vacant and spent €30 million to convert the site into a high-quality space before leasing it to the social network giant for 15 years, according to the report.
* Meanwhile, joint venture partners Ballymore and Singapore-based Oxley Holdings Ltd. are placing a building, which forms the second phase of the Dublin Landings development, on the market with a price tag of €98.8 million, The Irish Times reported. The eight-story No 2 Dublin Landings building is pre-let to shared workspace provider WeWork Cos. and is slated to be completed later in May.
* PW reported that an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corp. signed a franchise agreement with Realmside to operate its first property in Ireland, under the Hyatt Centric brand. The 234-room property in the Liberties district of Dublin will be managed by Hodson Bay Group Management and is expected to open in May 2019, the report added.
Sweden
* On behalf of institutional investors, Barings Real Estate is buying the roughly 10,000-square-meter Härolden 44 office property in Stockholm from local fund manager Mengus for more than €100 million. The building is fully leased to 12 tenants.
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Anusha Iyer contributed to this report.
