S&P Global Ratings upgraded Westfield Corp.'s long-term issuer credit ratings to A from BBB+ and removed the ratings from CreditWatch following the company's US$15.68 billion buyout by Unibail-Rodamco SE.
The outlook is stable.
The ratings were upgraded to reflect the group credit profile and S&P's long-term issuer credit rating of A on its parent, Unibail-Rodamco. The Australian company will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the French real estate investment trust and account for about 30% of the consolidated group earnings.
The stable outlook on Westfield corresponds to the rating agency's view that the combined Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield portfolio, comprising prime and dominant shopping centers in 13 countries, will continue to attract footfall and handle the expanding e-commerce implementations in the sector for up to next two years.
To support its large development pipeline, the management of the combined group is expected to maintain financial flexibility through low-cost financing and its plan to divest €3 billion worth of assets in the medium term.
This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings, a separately managed division of S&P Global. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings. The original S&P Global Ratings documents referred to in this news brief can be found here.
