Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Sells 15% Stake in Paris’ Forum des Halles Shopping Center

PARIS – Paris- and Amsterdam-based mall giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) said Monday it has sold a 15 percent stake in the central Paris shopping center Westfield Forum des Halles as part of its ongoing efforts to streamline its assets and reduce its debt.

The shares were sold to CDC Investissement Immobilier, a subsidiary of French institutional investor Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, for 235 million euros, the company said in a statement.

The massive, 835,300-square-foot underground Forum des Halles is the flagship shopping center in central Paris. It’s the most visited shopping center in France, with 150,000 visitors daily.

“This transaction marks a strong milestone in the flagship shopping center investment market, showcasing one of the most attractive and best-performing retail assets in the European market,” URW said.

The center will now operate as a joint venture, with URW in control of a 50 percent stake, along with AXA Investment Managers Alternatives at 35 percent, and CDC with 15 percent.

URW will continue to manage the center, which houses fashion shops such as H&M, Zara and Mango, alongside books and electronics retailer Fnac and French retailer Monoprix.

The joint venture structure of Forum des Halles will allow URW to retain oversight of the center while generating property management fees. As part of a restructuring plan first launched in 2020, the company aims to generate non-rent based annual revenues of 150 million by the end of 2025.

The sale is the latest step in the 9 billion euro deleveraging and debt reduction plan. As part of that plan, the mall giant began selling off its underperforming and second-tier U.S. properties in 2022, such as the Westfield Mission Valley and Westfield North County in Southern California, and Westfield Brandon in Florida.

Since the beginning of 2024, URW has sold 1.5 billion euros of properties, which has gone towards the debt reduction. “The group remains in active discussions for further divestments, as part of its debt reduction plan,” the company added.

URW also launched a carbon reduction plan in 2023 to cut its emissions 90 percent by 2050, from a baseline of 2015.