Westfield founder Frank Lowy and his sons Peter and Steven have injected $177.3 million of their own money into their newly created overseas empire, taking the family's private holding to just under 10 per cent.
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The on-market trades of 23.7 million securities, as reported in a notice to the ASX on Wednesday, were completed at prices between $7.42 and $7.44, at levels where the group has traded so far this week.
The trades were undertaken through Lowy family-controlled trusts, which are managed by eldest son, David.
Mr Lowy and Peter and Steven under took a hard-fought, $70 billion battle earlier this year to split the Westfield empire into the Australian and New Zealand malls - now trading as Scentre - and the overseas operations, now known as Westfield Corporation.
Despite some opposition from key investors, including UniSuper, the deal got across the line in late June.
The Lowys now focus on the international business, as indicated by the share purchases, and have plans for a new mall in Milan. They are said to be looking at South America, but have not made any inroads since they withdrew from a joint venture in Brazil two years ago.
In a bid to raise cash for redevelopment of its interest in 49 malls, Scentre has engaged JP Morgan to review the ownership of the NZ assets, which could see a sell out to a third party or a spin-off to a new vehicle.
