S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) stock Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW) is slipping today.
Shares in the multi-listed, France-based commercial property developer closed yesterday at $7.17. In morning trade on Friday, shares are trading for $7.12 apiece, down 0.7%.
This comes as investors mull over the announcement, released after market close on Thursday, that the ASX 300 stock won't be trading on the ASX much longer.
Here's what's happening.
ASX 300 stock to delist from ASX
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shares are dipping after the company reported that it had requested and received formal approval from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to be removed from the ASX.
The ASX 300 stock expects to be officially delisted on 27 August. Management said that its ASX CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) will likely stop trading on the ASX at the closing bell on 25 August.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shares will continue to trade uninterrupted in France on the Euronext Paris stock exchange. The real estate developer trades there under the same ticker as in Australia, namely URW.
Why are Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shares exiting the ASX?
When Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield first listed on the ASX on 30 May 2018, its CDIs made up around 24% of all the company's issued shares.
But the ASX 300 stock's CDIs have seen a big reduction in their slice of the developer's pie since then.
According to the release, as at 19 June, those Aussie CDIs only made up around 3.1% of the shares admitted to trading on Euronext Paris.
Management noted:
Daily trading volumes and liquidity of CDIs traded on ASX are very low compared to that of shares traded on Euronext Paris and other European trading venues. URW considers that the administrative and compliance obligations and costs associated with maintaining the ASX listing are no longer in the best interests of URW's shareholders as a whole.
What should I do if I own this ASX 300 stock?
If you own ASX-listed Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shares, don't worry. You have several options available, with no need to rush your decision.
The ASX 300 stock said that each CDI holder will receive a communication setting out an overview of the delisting process, the delisting timetable, and the options available for you.
Those options include selling your URW CDIs on ASX before the stock is suspended from trading on 25 August.
If you want to maintain your exposure to Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, whose share price is up 23% over the past year, you can also convert those CDIs into shares, listed on Euronext Paris.
The company noted:
At any time up until the closing date of the Voluntary Sale Facility (3 November 2025), CDI holders may [subject to certain requirements] request to convert their CDIs to shares on a 20 CDIs :1 share basis.
Other options for investors in the ASX 300 stock include participating in a voluntary sale facility.
Management noted that for investors who elect for none of the above options:
Unless CDI holders sell their CDIs on ASX on or before the suspension date, or elect to participate in the voluntary sale facility, or become a holder of shares listed on Euronext Paris, then the shares underlying their CDIs will be sold, by default, pursuant to the compulsory sale facility.
