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Testa Postpones its Stock Market Debut Due to Political and Market Instability

29 May 2018 – Europa Press

Testa Residencial has postponed its debut on the stock market, initially planned for June, in light of the volatility on the stock market due to the political instability in the country, according to sources at the company speaking to Europa Press.

The rental home Socimi in which Santander and BBVA hold stakes has also decided to debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) rather than list directly on the main stock market as originally planned.

In this way, in order to not lose the status of Socimi, which establishes a deadline for the firm to debut on the stock market, Testa Residencial will have to list on the MAB before 30 September, although it does not rule out debuting on the main stock market in a second phase.

Testa Residencial is whereby the second company, after Azora, to decide to delay its planned debut on the stock market, although in the case of that real estate asset management firm, it attributed its postponement to the takeover that Blackstone has launched over Hispania, one of its main clients.

In the case of Testa, the firm had planned to start trading on the stock market during the second half of June, and was looking at the 22nd of the month as the likely debut date.

The rental home Socimi had planned to make its debut through a public offering of shares (OPV) and a public subscription offering (OPS) of new shares, the latter for €130 million, both aimed at institutional investors.

Second postponed debut

In this way, Testa was going to become the second entity to debut on the main stock market this year, after Metrovacesa in February, but now it is the second real estate company to decide to postpone its debut.

The decisions by Azora and Testa may influence other firms in the sector that had also planned to make their own stock market debuts, such as Vía Célere and Haya Real Estate, the servicer owned by the US fund Cerberus. In that case, the firm’s debut is dependent on the closure of the asset management contracts that it is currently negotiating with BBVA and Sareb.

In terms of Testa Residencial, by virtue of the OPV, the Socimi Merlin Properties had planned to exit its share capital, by placing on the market its entire 17% stake in the firm.

The market was also expecting that Santander and BBVA would sell some of their shares in the rental home company, which amount to 37% and 26%, respectively. Acciona, meanwhile, had not yet taken a decision regarding its 20% stake in the company.

Testa Residencial is one of the largest rental home companies in the country, given that it owns a portfolio of 10,700 homes, worth €2.275 billion.

With its leap onto the stock market, the firm intends to consolidate its position as a new real estate giant, unprecedented in the country, given its specialisation in primary home rentals, at a time when that segment is experiencing in a boom in Spain.

Original story: Europa Press

Translation: Carmel Drake