The Westfield offer is for the equity in the company, which owns Merry Hill shopping center in the West Midlands as well as in Stratford. Including debt, the Westfield deal could be worth euro 2.9 billion ($3.6 billion) or more.
Chelsfield founder Elliott Bernerd and his business partners took the company private in May but a rift between Bernerd and shareholders David and Simon Reuben has made the company vulnerable to a takeover. Multiplex had been seeking to buy Minerva, the public company, but pulled out of the bidding after Minerva opened itself up to an auction. Westfield is still in the running for Minerva as are Tishman Speyer, Blackstone and Hines.
Should Westfield be successful in its bid for Minerva and there are no expected new bids for Chelsfield, then two of Britain's biggest property companies will be owned by Australians.
Analysts interpret the interest of both Australian companies in British property as part of their aggressive international expansion. Billions of dollars have flowed into Australian real estate investment trusts of the sort run by Westfield and Multiplex money, which now needs to be invested.
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