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EQT To Sell Parkia To First State For €300M+

24 June 2016 – Expansión

The Nordic fund EQT has brought forward the process to select offers for the purchase of its 66.8% stake in Parkia, one of the leaders in the Spanish car park market. According to sources, the likely buyer is the Australian fund First State. The consideration paid could amount to more than €300 million for 100% of the company.

EQT, advised by BBVA, may announce the completion of the operation today. Parkia’s other shareholder is Mutua Madrileña, which controls 33.2% of the car park company. The Spanish insurance company may also sell its stake to First State if it considers the price to be attractive enough. According to the terms of the bid, interested parties must submit two offers: one for the shares owned by EQT and another for 100% of the company.

After undertaking a preliminary process to select certain bids a few weeks ago, several groups passed through to the final round. As well as First State, the other finalists included Saba, Empark, Indigo (controlled by the fund Ardian) and Interparking. Provided there are no last minute changes, EQT will opt to award the shares to the Australian fund. In theory, the definitive deadline for the receipt of offers had been extended until the middle of July, but EQT decided to bring forward the transaction.

Valuation

Throughout the sales process, interested investors have indicated a valuation range for the whole company of between €300 and €350 million, which represents between 15x and 17x of forecast EBITDA for 2016 (c. €20 million).

First State is known in Spain because it acquired a stake in the Galician regasification firm Reganosa which had belonged to the savings banks. First State is the asset management arm of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, one of the largest banks in Australia. The sale of Parkia represents a turning point in the car park sector, which has received renewed interest from investors thanks to improvements in activity.

Original story: Expansión (by C. M. / D. B. / M. P. L.)

Translation: Carmel Drake