The prospect of a shake-up in the European retail market grew this week when Simon Property Group, the largest owner of US malls and outlets, announced it had taken a 28.7% stake in French real estate group Klépierre.
Simon bought the stake from BNP Paribas for about €1.5bn (€28 per share) to become Klépierre’s largest shareholder. David Simon will become chairman, and SPG will add two further board members to the company.
This month, the company, which has a €16bn portfolio of shopping centres and galleries linked to hypermarkets across Europe, opens the €160m Paris St. Lazare centre at the city’s famous railway station. SPG’s move comes amid growing M&A speculation around companies in the sector, including UK and French retail owner Hammerson.
julia.cahill@estatesgazette.com
