Tag: Azora

Azora Names Juan Maria Nin Its CEO

18/12/2014 – Expansion

After leaving his positions of the vice-chairman and the CEO of CaixaBank back in June, Juan Maria Nin is going to join Azora, a real estate manager who has proposed a voluntary tender offer (VTO) for Realia through its affiliate Hispania.

Mr Nin (pictured) will reinforce the company’s managing board, providing his ample knowledge about institutional investor capturing, financing and corporate design.

In parallel, the executive refused the same position in Austrian entity Erste Bank. The director has participated in administrative board teams of other two companies led by family offices, pharmaceutical and chemical firm Indukern and diet group Naturhouse, which preps for going public in 2015. In addition, Mr Nin still represents La Caixa in Repsol’s and Gas Nutural’s boards of directors. Finally, the executive chairs the Fundación del Consejo España-Estados Unidos (a Spanish-U.S. Foundation) and holds important posts at the University of Deusto and the Fundación Esade.

Sources close to the parties said that the banker has a close relationship with the founders of Azora, Fernando Gumuzio and Concha Osacar, whom he met during his work for old Santander Central Hispano.

Property Investment

Founded in 2003, Azora is specialized in real estate investment, having a 3 billion euro worth of assets under management. Its activity encompasses hotel, office, residential and student residence assets. In this context, Azora defines itself as a leader in rental property management in Spain with a portfolio of 10.500 homes.

In 2013, the Community of Madrid sold 3.000 subsidized apartments to Azora and Goldman Sachs for 201 million euros.

Currently, Azora administers five funds, among which clearly outstands Hispania, a company that went public earlier in March and that relies on truly prominent shareholders, like magnates George Soros and John Paulson.

Hispania debuted with 550 million euros in funds with an aim set at taking advantage of the opportunities emerging from the Spanish property market. During the first nine months of its lifespan, the firm has invested 347 million euros or 65% of the equity. Hispania has purchased an office real estate volume of over 91.000 square meters of gross lettable area in Madrid and Barcelona, 412 homes, and four hotels, two in Madrid, one in Marbella (Malaga) and one in Tenerife, totalling at 639 keys.

 

Original article: Expansión (by S. Saborit)

Translation: AURA REE

Hispania’s Takeover Bid Causes Realia to Plummet on the Stock

21/11/2014 – Expansion, Cinco Dias

As reported yesterday, listed arm of Azora, Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios, is going to submit a takeover bid for 100% of Realia Business, offering €0.49 per share, a 50% discount on the current price on the stock exchange market. The proposal has pulled down the price by more than 30%.

FCC and Bankia hold 36.88% and 24.953% stakes respectively. Just yesterday, the news rolled over Spain that Azora, Fortress and King Street were giving the finishing touch to their 100% bid.

Hispania, held by such prominent, world-wide known investors as George Soros and John Paulson, admitted it was ‘pondering submitting a proposal for the entire Realia Business’.

The group would present the offer just after acquiring the 60% stake held jointly by Bankia and FCC. The share volume will oblige Azora to take the company over as the stake doubles legally established 30% minimum.

Although Hispania has not specified the amount, it said it was ‘considering a price of 0.49 euros a share’. If the Socimi (Spanish real estate investment trust) pays as much as it suggests, it would mean a 50% slash on the present €1.055 trading value.  With the 26% depreciation, Realia’s stock exchange value dropped overnight from €324 million to current €239.75 million.

Two Conditions

The takeover bid will be accepted if two requirements met: firstly, the it shall represent at least 55% of the current share capital of Realia. And secondly, it shall include exemption of determined restrictions and limitations included in the Management Agreement between Hispania and Azora.

Hispania also admitted it is currently in talks with creditors of Realia, negotiating on a long-term sindicate financing contract signed with the firm on September 30th, 2009. If the takeover bid approved, Hispania would carry out a capital increase, granting the pre-emtive right to the shareholders. The extension would be equal to the amount pending refinancing.

Except for FCC and Bankia, the main stakeholders of Realia are: another property manager Lualca owning a 5.02% share and Grupo Prasa with its 5.004%.

While because of the news Realia dipped down on the stock, Hispania appreciated by 0.18%. The Socimi went public on 14th March earlier this year at a price of €10.50 a share, by 5.4% more than the €9.932 registered yesterday.

Since then, the vehicle led by Rafael Miranda (pictured) has spent €372 million on properties in Spain, mainly office buildings (precisely 17, investing €223.8 million in them), hotels (e.g. the Guadalmina in Marbella and two NH establishments), as well as 399 dwellingss (200 in Barcelona and 199 in Madrid). Hispania has got €538.2 million in funds.

Assets at Stake

Realia Business owns a real estate branch with 419.000 square meters under management, including office buildings (243.000 square meters) and several shopping malls. To give an accurate example, one of the iconic angled Torres Kio towers at the Plaza de Madrid square in the capital, as well as the Torre Realia BCN in Barcelona. However, the company also possesses disposable business of housing development and land, totalling at 1.9 million square meters and 700 apartments.

 

Original article: Expansión (by M. L. Verbo), Cinco Días (by Alberto Ortín Ramón)

Translation: AURA REE

Fortress, Azora & King Street Submit Takeover Bid For 100% of Realia

20/11/2014 – Expansion

This is the last chapter of the sale of 60% stake in Realia by FCC and Bankia. After nearly a year of dealing with various candidates,  funds Fortress and King Street, together with their Spanish partner Azora were selected and now they are giving the finishing touch to their takeover bid for the entire real estate firm. This morning, Realia was suspended on the stock exchange market just before the opening of tenders ‘due to circumstances that might have disrupted normal trading’. For the same reason has been suspended Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios, a Socimi (REIT) led by Azora.

The proposal of the three bidding winners turned out to be more tempting than the offers of two other fore-runners: Torreal (controlled by Juan Abello) and Colonial that wanted to buy only Patrimonio branch of Realia, encompassing rental buildings and excluding land and residential assets.

Valuation

Realia’s current worth on the stock shows €324 million, with a 27% stock revaluation year-to-date. Its shares trade at 1.06 euros each, an incomparable price to the 6 euros paid in pre-crisis 2007. As of 31th December 2013, the real estate assets of Realia were valued at more than €3.38 billion. Today, after July sale of Siic de Paris, the figures would post around €2.11 billion.

Bankia and FCC strived at selling-off their holdings, first urged by Brussels to divest from non-core assets and the other willing to focus on its own business and cut in debt.

Given the green light, Fortress, King Street and Azora will now submit a 100% bid. The funds already know Realia very well as they have bought two debt portfolios of the firm, one worth €437 million from Sareb and the other valued at €100 million from Santander respectively.

According to data entered in the CNMV’s registries, FCC holds 36.887% in Realia, and Bankia-BFA owns a 24.953% stake. Also, the company is being held by Lualca (5.02%) and Grupo Prasa (5.004%).

 

Original article: Expansión (by R. Ruiz, C. Morán & D. Badía)

Translation: AURA REE

Azora Allies With Fortress & King Street in Bidding For Realia

12/11/2014 – Expansion

The sale process of the 55.95% stake of Realia in hands of FCC and Bankia enters the final stretch with some new players on the horizon. As the news on Torreal eyeing the purchase faded out, another Spanish fund joined the tender of the desirable real estate firm.

Azora, a private equity company established by Concha Osacar and Fernando Gumuzio in 2003, is said to have teamed up with  Fortress and King Street that already bid for Realia together. Both funds have become the main creditors of the firm at the moment of acquisition of 60% of the debt from Sareb and Santander, respectively. In fact, Azora participated in the purchse of €437 million in loans sold to Fortress by the bad bank.

The Spanish fund manager administers the 3.000 houses which Goldman Sachs bought for €201 million in mid-2013 from Ivima, Madrid’s Housing Insititute.

At present, Azora manages a €2.3 billion worth of assets, including subsidized homes for rent, student housing and offices scattered around various European countries. At the beginning of the year, Azora floated a Socimi (Spanish REIT firm) called Hispania with €500 million raised at IPO and support from such big-name investors as George Soros and his Quantum Strategic Partners, John Paulson, Moore Capital, Dutch Pension Fund APG, Cohen & Steers and Canepa. Since its listing on the stock exchange market, Hispania has purchased assets worth €347 million.

The Proposal

At the moment, Fortress and King Street are the only candidates who demonstrated willingness to buy 100% of the stake. The operation would be carried out through a debt-for-equity swap. According to the latest available Realia balance report on the first quarter 2014 received by the National Stock Exchange Commission (or the CNMV), the company’s financial liabilities amassed at €2.11 billion, cut significantly by the sale of the Siic de Paris stake for more than €1 billion.

In turn, Colonial and Torreal would rather vie for Realia Patrimonio, excluding the residential land and housing encompassed by the branch. Only Colonial’s bid has been disclosed, €650 million.

Goldman Sachs, the underwriter, aims at closing the sale by December 31st. The 56% stake put up by builder FCC and Bankia drew attention of many funds like Orion, AEW and Amancio Ortega‘s Pontegadea.

Currently, FCC and Bankia are pondering the three offers. No matter who wins the 56% holding in Realia Business, they will have to submit a takeover bid for the entire company, resulting in its delisting. This way, Realia would follow the suit of another legendary firm, Metrovacesa, whose creditor shareholders excluded it from the stock exchange in May 2013.

 

Original article: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: AURA REE

Carey Fund, Managed by Azora, Sells the Harrington Hotel in London For an Amount of €112 Mn

18/09/2014 – Press Release by Azora

Carey Property, subsidiary Company of the hotel fund Carey Value Added, managed by Azora, has sold the Harrington Hotel, located in South Kensington, London, to a Middle East investment group, for an amount of 112 million Euro.

The 4* Harrington Hotel has 201 keys. Up to the moment of its disposal, the hotel has been managed by NH group under the brand NH Harrington. The Carey fund owned, through its subsidiary Carey Property, a 75% stake in the hotel, while NH group owned the remaining 25%.

“The sale of the Harrington Hotel is explained by the excellent moment the London hotel market is currently experiencing and is in line with Carey’s strategy of extracting the highest profitability of its assets” asserted Concha Osácar, Board Member of Carey Value Added.

Carey Property will continue being present in London with the NH Kensington Hotel. Carey Value Added is a hotel fund which currently holds 9 assets in the main markets where hotel companies have presence (New York, London, Washington, Berlin, Cologne, Geneva and Brussels). The fund was created in 2006 and, from 2010 on, it is managed by Azora.

 

Article published by the courtesy of Azora

Sareb Auctions €220 Mn in Loans

24/06/2014 – Expansion

Sareb puts up for sale a new loan portfolio called “Pamela”. It targets large investors comprising of 25 property-backed credits valued jointly at €220 million.

Great majority of the subsidized properties for rent (95%) is situated in Madrid and they are mostly outstanding.

“Pamela” is the first lot created by the bad bank in 2014. Sareb has sold 17 plots included in the Crossover Operation to Castlelake recently. Year-to-date, the entity shed 130 wholesale portfolios.

Responsible for Investor Relations Marta Gomez assured the bad bank is forging three lots more to put up for an auction this year, including rented houses, hotels and loans.

The sale is expected to close at the end of July. It has called attention of big name residential investors like Blackstone, Azora, Patron Capital, Ivima or TPG.

 

Original article: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: AURA REE

Sareb and Santander sell 540 million Euros in debt from Realia.

Sareb has finalized the most ambitious operation since its creation by the Government: the sale of Realia´s debt. Sources close to the operation, known as “Project Elora”, declare that they  will  transfer  immediately  nearly  440  million  Euros  to  Fortress,  a  fund  that  will collaborate with the managing company Azora Gestión.

Sareb  had  planned  to  sell  a  higher  amount, but  in  the  end  has  decided to  leave  a participated loan out of this operation, which “will be sold at a later stage”, financial sources add. This is a credit for 114 million Euros, half of which is in the hands of Sareb.

The Project Elora is framed within another huge project, known as Bermudas, that includes all the exposure of the company to the listed real estate companies, Metrovacesa and Colonial. The total amount of this portfolio reaches 1200 million Euros, but several sales have already been carried out.

Along with this operation with Realia´s debt, Sareb awarded in August the fund Burlington Loan Management the package of syndicated loans from Grupo Colonial, with a nominal value of  245 million Euros. A bit earlier, in  May, it  had already placed a  credit from Metrovacesa for 35 million Euros. All this in addition to the sale last week of another 323 million Euros to Deutsche Bank. 90 million of these belonged to Bermudas as they were credits from Metrovacesa.

The two funds which will end up with Sareb´s package have been very active all year, especially Fortress. It acquired Lico Leasing, it was interested in the real estate company of Popular and it offered Sareb to enter its capital when it was created. On the other side, Azora  was  created  by  two  former  executives  from  Santander,  Concha  Osácar  and Fernando Gumuzio and its focused in investing in  the real estate sector on behalf of Spanish companies and banks, as well as Spanish and South American great fortunes.

But not only Sareb is taking advantage of the appetite of foreign investors for real estate assets in Spain, Santander has also joined in with the sale of the debt it had in Realia to the U.S. fund King Street Capital Management. Financial sources explain that the nominal value of that debt in the hands of Santander reached 100 million Euros. The bank declined any comments.

Both the debt of Sareb and the one from Santander were included in the loan refinanced by Realia  for  847  million  Euros,  which  was  participated  by  BBVA,  Sabadell,  Barclays, Kutxabank and CaixaBank. In total, the financial debt of the company reached 2166 million Euros at the end of the first half of the year.

With the agreement for the refinancing, the real estate company presided over by  Ignacio Bayón reduced this credit to 792 million Euros, increasing the recovery period to 3 years, until the 30th June 2016. KutxaBank and Barclays decided to leave the syndicate.

The sale carried out by Sareb and Santander includes 68% of the loan that was signed before the summer. (…)

 

Source: Expansión

Madrid auctions six properties to obtain more than 78 million Euros.

The government of Ignacio González will auction on the 11th November trade premises and five office buildings rented to the Regional Government, The pension funds are the main candidates for the acquisition.

The Community of Madrid (CAM) has decided to speed up its disinvestment plan of real estate assets and put a new lot of properties on the market. After closing the sale of a package of 3000 subsidized homes on a rental scheme to Azora and Goldman Sachs for 201 million Euros, the Government presided over by Ignacio González has put two new proposals on the market: the commercialization of 22 developments of subsidized properties, launched in September, and the sale of five office buildings and trade premises, a few days ago. It has decided to sell these properties and stay as a tenant (sale & leaseback) through an auction. It will take place on the 11th November in the headquarters of the CAM.

The regional government has given one week for those interested to present their proposals. The prices of all buildings are in line with the value of the areas where they are located. The yields range from 8,26% to 6,62%. (…)