Tag: debut

Slim Launches €2,800M Takeover Of FCC

7 March 2016 – Expansión

On Friday, the Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim (pictured above) announced a takeover bid for 100% of FCC, after taking ownership of 36.5% of its share capital. Slim is proposing a cash offer at €7.60 per share. This price represents a premium of 15.3% with respect to Friday’s closing price of €6.59. The company has 260.5 million shares in circulation. Together with the other 118 million shares that the company is issuing through its current capital increase, Slim’s offer values the group at €2,870 million.

Slim is launching the takeover after exceeding the 30% threshold set by Spanish legislation for mandatory takeovers. On Friday, Slim explained to Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that it, directly or indirectly, controls 29.558% of the voting rights through Control Empresarial de Capitales (CEC), a subsidiary of Inversora Carso (IC), plus it has been “attributed” another 7.036% of the share capital. According to financial sources, this latter percentage comes from the pledge made in relation to the loans granted to Esther Koplowitz, FCC’s other major shareholder.

Obligation

The possibility of the FCC takeover has been on the cards since Slim agreed to refinance FCC, but until now it was unclear how he was going to be able to exceed the share capital threshold of 30%, beyond which level the obligation to undertake the operation is legally activated.

Slim acknowledges that “IC is obliged to make a public offer for the acquisition of all of FCC’s shares and to address that offer to all of the shareholders at a fair price”. Slim’s takeover of FCC’s capital requires the sudden takeover of Portland, the cement subsidiary of the construction and services group.

As a result, Slim announced another takeover on Friday, in this case of Portland, in parallel to the takeover of FCC. It will be launched by FCC itself and will involve the group delisting from the stock exchange.

The takeover of Portland, also in cash, will be made at €6 per share, which represents a premium of 14% above the closing price on Friday (€5.26) and 12% above the price on Thursday. At that price, Portland is worth around €310 million, compared with €272 million based on its list price on Friday.

FCC already controls 77.94% of Portland, which means that the takeover is targetted at 22% of the share capital. Following the takeover, Portland will no longer be listed on the stock market. Investors that do not participate will lose out in terms of the liquidity of their shares. Although Slim is offering a premium for his takeover of FCC, the price still falls below the price at which he purchased his shares (€9.75), which means that it will only partially offset the excess over book value at which his stake is recorded.

Original story: Expansión (by C.Morán and M.Á.Patiño)

Translation: Carmel Drake

BMB’s Socimi Will Debut On Stock Market In June

6 March 2016 – Expansión

The real estate fund manager BMB Investment Management has already raised capital amounting to €50 million for its new Socimi, Optimum Re Spain, and is getting ready to list it on the stock exchange in June. The investors, which include Spaniards and overseas financiers, are virtually the same as those who participated in its previous funds, Optimum Berlin Property and Optimum Berlin Property Two.

Those two vehicles invested €90 million in the purchase of 60 residential buildings in Berlin between 2007 and 2015. By 2013, given the rise in prices, they had already returned 50% of the capital to investors through rental income. And although the plan was to wait until 2016 to sell the properties, they received an offer for the purchase of 50 of the buildings for €125 million in 2015, which they could not refuse. Given the success of the first two funds in Berlin, the investors have wanted to take advantage of the upwards cycle in Spain.

Last year, the firm BMB created the Socimi Optimum Re Spain, through which it has already purchased nine buildings and is finalising the acquisition of other properties.

Original story: Expansión (by Marisa Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar’s Assets Appreciated By 5.4% In 9 Months To Dec 15

22 January 2016 – Expansión

LAR España’s real estate assets appreciated by 5.4% between March 2015, when the Socimi debuted on the stock exchange, and year end. In this way, the value of its properties increased by €46.2 million in just nine months to reach €898.9 million.

Company sources attribute the rise in the asset values to the recovery in the real estate sector, as well as to the improvements in the management of the properties. The valuation has been performed by the consultancy firms Cushman & Wakefield and JLL.

By type of asset, it was Lar’s logistics assets that increased in value by the most (by 11%), followed by the Socimi’s residential portfolio (7.1%), then its office buildings (6.6%) and shopping centres (4.4%).

LAR’s portfolio comprises: 12 retail premises in Guipúzcoa, Palencia, Albacete, Barcelona, Alicante, Madrid, Cantabria, Lugo, León, Vizcaya, Navarra and Valencia; four office buildings in Madrid and one in Barcelona; four logistics assets in Guadalajara and one in Valencia; as well as one residential asset in Madrid.

The President of LAR España, José Luis del Valle, highlighted that “this increase carries even more weight if we consider that a third of assets (€282 million) were acquired during the second half of the year, which barely gave us any time to undertake the necessary measures to allow us to create value”. The President of the Socimi expects that the value of the assets in LAR’s portfolio will continue to increase in 2016.

Original story: Expansión (by M. A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Socimi Zambal Debuts On MAB With 4.84% Rise

2 December 2015 – El Economista

The Socimi Zambal, owner of the ABC Serrano shopping centre, amongst other properties, has debuted on the Alternative Investment Market (‘Mercado Alternative Bursátil’ or MAB) with a 4.84% increase, after it recorded an initial price of €1.30/share, compared with the price it set to go public (€1.24).

Zambal, the eleventh real estate firm of its kind to debut on this market, is the owner of nine office and commercial buildings in Madrid and Barcelona.

Besides the ABC Serrano shopping complex, located in the centre of the capital, the firm is the landlord of Día, Unidad Editorial, BMW Ibérica, Enagás and Vodafone España, since it leases buildings in Madrid in which these companies have their respective corporate headquarters.

In the commercial sphere, Zambal is the owner of a property in Plaza de Cataluña in Barcelona, which El Corte Inglés occupies under a lease contract.

Zambal listed on the MAB under the ticker ‘YZBL’ and its shares were traded through a fixing system. At the first auction, held at 12:00h, the company sold 1,500 shares.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

GMP Will Debut On Stock Exchange Before Oct 2016

10 November 2015 – Cinco Días

One of the real estate companies that owns some of the best office buildings in Madrid will debut on the stock exchange before October 2016. GMP Property, which was constituted as a Socimi in September last year, has up to two years to list on the stock market, and it seems like the company’s managers are going to maximise that period – by all accounts, they are in no hurry to take the step, but they are already working to prepare the company to that end.

GMP Property is controlled by the Montoro family, which founded the company in 1979, as a pure real estate company, in other words, a company dedicated to the generation of income, primarily from office rentals. The GIC Real Estate International division of the Singapore sovereign fund acquired a stake in the company as part of GMP’s strategy to become a Socimi in September last year. It purchased 30% of the real estate company for €200 million, which meant that the company’s market value then stood at around €670 million.

That is an indication of the potential value of the real estate company on the stock exchange, although the company says that its market capitalisation is greater now than when GIC acquired its stake, given the better climate for economic activity in Spain and thanks to the new properties that the company has incorporated into its portfolio. “GMP is undoubtedly worth more now than a year ago”, said Xavier Barrondo, the CEO of GMP.

In this way, it will become one of the largest Socimis in Spain, alongside Merlin, Axiare, Hispania and Lar España. Zambal is the Socimi that is expected to debut on the stock market next. It is owned by the French fund IBA Capital and holds properties such as the ABC Serrano shopping centre in Madrid and Zara’s flagship store on Calle Preciados. The Socimis have the advantage that they do not pay corporation tax, but they are obliged to pay dividends to their shareholders. Moreover, they have a maximum period of two years to debut on the stock exchange.

Shareholder stability

Once listed, the managers of GMP intend to maintain the union of current shareholders, which includes the Montoro family and GIC. “It is a long-term strategic alliance”, says Barrondo. For this reason, the Socimi will only list the minimum number of shares known as free float on the stock exchange, for a small value, estimated at €2 million.

The Singapore fund holds its stake in GMP through another Socimi, known as Euro Cervantes. That company also holds other investments in Spain, primarily in shopping centres, such as La Maquinista (Barcelona) and Habaneras (Torrevieja, Alicante). The latest data available for GMP, from its annual report for 2014, indicates that the gross value of the company’s assets amounted to €1,282 million as at December 2014. (…).

Some of the most iconic buildings in its portfolio include the BBVA Tower on the Castellana, the historical headquarters of Banco Bilbao, on Calle Alcalá 16 and Garrigues’ corporate headquarters on Calle Hermosilla, all in Madrid. (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Socimi Fever Shakes Up The Stock Market

28 September 2015 – El Economista

After a flurry of activity during 2015, Spain now has 14 listed Socimis, of which 10 trade on the MAB. And this figure is expected to continue to grow over the coming months.

Last week, two Socimis went public on the Alternative Investment Market (‘Mercado Alternativo Bursátil’ or MAB). The first, Autonomy Spain, debuted with an increase of 1.52%, to €16.75.

Autonomy is the parent company of a group that currently comprises two sub-Socimis. The group’s real estate portfolio contains six office buildings – five located in the Community of Madrid and one in Cataluña.

A day later, it was the turn of the Socimi Corpfin Capital Prime Retail II, which became the tenth real estate investment company to go public on the MAB.

The company, which has already invested €75 million in retail premises in “prime” areas of Madrid, San Sebastián, Burgos and Vitoria, expects to invest a further €35 million before November 2016, whereby taking its total investment to €110 million.

This is the first Socimi that the private equity firm Corpfin Capital has listed publicly. The firm also has plans to list another Socimi, Corpfin Capital III, through which it holds joint investments in 8 real estate assets.

The week before, Zaragoza Properties, which owns a stake in the Puerto Venecia Shopping Resort shopping centre in Zaragoza, debuted on the MAB.

Also this year, the Socimi Obsido entered the market for small companies. Its growth plans involve the purchase of hotels in Spain’s principal tourist destinations.

In addition, Trajano Iberia debuted on the stock market (in July). It is managed and promoted by a division of Deutsche Bank, and focuses on “semi prime” offices in Madrid and Barcelona; “prime” offices in secondary cities, shopping centres, and logistics assets.

Also in July, Mercal went public with a portfolio of assets in strategic locations in Spain. Four months before that Uro Property Holding, which owns one third of Santander’s bank branches, began trading on the MAB with a valuation of €259.7 million.

The Socimis Entrecampos, Fidere and Promorent also trade on the MAB, but the largest Socimis, namely Merlin Properties, Hispania, Lar España Real Estate and Axiare, all trade on the main stock exchange. Between them, they had purchased assets amounting to more than €3,100 million as at the middle of August, strengthened by the funds raised through their respective capital increases.

Even Acciona is evaluating the possibility of creating a Socimi for its real estate assets, and this Monday, the General Shareholders’ Meeting of Testa is expected to approve the conversion of the company into a Socimi after it was acquired by Merlin.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

BlackRock Increases Stake In Merlin & Invests In Lar

25 September 2015 – Cinco Días

The fund BlackRock has strengthened its commitment to the Spanish Socimis, by increasing its stake in Merlin Properties to exceed the 5% threshold and by acquiring a stake in Lar España, snapping up 3.41% of the company’s shares.

In this way, the fund now has a combined total investment worth approximately €200 million in these two companies, based on the respective, current prices of the two companies on the stock market.

Specifically, BlackRock has increased its stake in Merlin from 3.20% to 5.516%, according to the register of Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

The fund increased its shareholding in Merlin, currently valued at €188 million, after the Socimi took control of Testa, the former subsidiary of Sacyr. Merlin, which is led by Ismael Clemente, plans to merge with Testa and whereby create the largest real estate company in the country, with total assets worth more than €5,000 million.

UBS also holds a stake of around 4% in this listed company.

Meanwhile, the shareholding acquired in Lar España is worth around €18 million. In this case, BlackRock joins several other investment funds and companies that already hold shares in the Socimi, such as Franklin Templeton Institutional, Pimco, Ameriprise Financial and Bestinver.

This summer, Lar España closed a €135 million capital increase and it will use the funds to continue its growth plans through the purchase of new assets.

Corpfin’s debut on MAB

Meanwhile, Corpfin Capital Prime Retail, the Socimi that manages retail premises on the some of the country’s most important high streets, will debut on the Alternative Investment Market (‘Mercado Alternativo Bursátil’ or MAB) today at a price of €1.60 per share, which values the company at €23.28 million.

Autonomy’s IPO

Corpfin will be the tenth Socimi to go public on the MAB after yesterday’s debut of Autonomy Spain Real Estate, whose shares closed trading up 1.52% at €16.75 per share. The company owns six office buildings.

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake

Corpfin Capital To Debut On MAB At €1.60/Share

24 September 2015 – Europa Press

Corpfin Capital Prime Retail, the Socimi that manages retail premises on several Spanish high streets, will make its debut on the Alternative Investment Market (‘Mercado Alternativo Bursátil’ or MAB) this Friday 25 September, at a price of €1.60 per share, representing a company market value of €23.28 million.

Corpfin will be the tenth Socimi to go public on MAB after Autonomy Spain Real Estate, which is due to debut today (Thursday).

Corpfin manages 12 retail premises in total, located on the main shopping streets in Madrid, San Sebastián, Vitoria and Burgos.

In the capital, its assets are located on the so-called “Golden Mile”, in other words, on Calles Serrano and Goya, as well as on Calles Princesa and Fuencarral.

Corpfin explains that it “fully owns” the properties in which its retail premises are located, with the exception of the two buildings on Princesa and Goya.

Tenants

Corpfin’s tenants include brands from the textile group Inditex, Mango, Décimas, Vodafone and La Sureña.

The company is seeking to raise funds through its debut on the MAB, which it will use to finance its future growth and purchase new assets, as well as to open itself up to new investors.

Corpfin Capital Real Estate is led by Javier Basagoiti Miranda, a former director of Ferrovial Inmobiliaria and Martinsa Fadesa, who has 28 years of experience in the real estate sector. Mr Basagoiti Miranda is currently also a Senior Advisor at KPMG in the Corporate Finance & Real Estate team.

Original story: Europa Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

Iba Capital’s Socimi, Zambal, Will List This Year

17 September 2015 – Expansión

The Socimi Zambal, created by the fund manager Iba Capital, is finalising its debut on the stock exchange before the end of the year. Its main assets include the headquarters of BMW, Enagás and Día in Madrid and the ABC Serrano shopping centre, also in the capital.

A new mega Socimi is preparing to debut on the stock market in 2015. The company in question is Zambal Spain, the listed real estate investment company created by the fund manager Iba Capital. With assets worth €500 million, the company will list on the MAB stock exchange before the end of the year. “We are not in any rush, but our aim is to go public before the end of the year”, explains Thierry Julienne, the President of IBA and of Zambal.

Since closing its first acquisition in 2013, the fund manager has created one of the most desirable portfolios in the market and plans to invest a further €1,000 million in new acquisitions. “We aim to invest a further €500 million in assets with a core profile in Madrid and Barcelona, through Zambal Spain, plus an additional €500 million with a value-added profile (those that require active management) in Spain’s main regional capital cities, through other vehicles”, explained Julienne in a statement.

The Socimi closed its first operation in Spain in the summer of 2013, when it purchased a building in Plaza Cataluña, Barcelona, from El Corte Inglés for €100 million. At the end of that year, it bought the ABC Serrano shopping centre and an office complex, located on Avenida de San Luis, 25, both in Madrid, from the real estate company Reyal Urbis, which had filed for bankruptcy in the February of that year. The office houses the headquarters of the communication group Unidad Editorial (which edits Expansión, El Mundo and Marca, amongst others).

Over the last two years, Zambal has added the headquarters of other famous brands to its portfolio. In December 2013, Iba purchased Torres Ágora from the real estate company Colonial; the property is leased in its entirety to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Socimi spent €73 million on its purchase of that office complex.

In 2014, the fund manager acquired Enagás’ headquarters in Madrid for €35 million and then Día’s headquarters for €30 million.

At the beginning of this year, Iba purchased BMW’s head offices in Spain, located in the north west of the capital. It paid €41 million to the French real estate company Gecina for the property, which measures 11,680 m2.

In addition to its extensive portfolio of offices, the Socimi also owns a retail building on Calle Preciados, 9, which it acquired from El Corte Inglés in 2013 for €50 million. Once the renovation of the property has been completed, it will house a major international fashion company.

Both the Socimi and the fund manager are led by Thierry Julienne, the former director of the consultancy Exa in Spain. Its investors include major European and American investors.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

New Hotel Socimi ‘Obsido’ To Debut On MAB In Sept

5 August 2015 – Idealista

Obsido Socimi, whose portfolio of retail assets is concentrated in Málaga, is set to become the next Socimi to list on the stock market in Spain; and it will do so in September, with a market value of €21.39 million….and a share price of €19.40.

Following the recent debuts of the Socimis owned by Blackstone and Deutsche Bank, Obsido will become the seventh Socimi to list on the Alternative Investment Market (‘Mercado Alternativo Bursátil’ or MAB). (…).

According to the company’s prospectus, Obsido Socimi is backed by Spanish and Norwegian capital. Håkan Tollefsen controls a 33.165% stake in the company (365,683 shares), as does Joaquín Hinojosa, whilst the Obsido Group, the parent company, holds a 0.26% stake (2,850 shares) and the other minority shareholders own the remaining shares (33.41%).

The company, which has the support of Armabex as the registered advisor and Banco Sabadell as the liquidity provider, has focused its real estate portfolio on Málaga, specifically two hotels in Marbella, according to Antonio Fernández, President of Armabex.

“All of the properties in the company’s real estate portfolio are located in the province of Málaga. As a result, the company’s business depends to a large extent on the overall economic conditions in the province and on demand for hotels in that area in particular”.

The seventh Socimi to list on MAB

Obsido is the seventh Socimi to debut on this exchange, which is also home to small companies looking to obtain financing to accelerate their expansion and SICAVs (the investment vehicles used by high net worth individuals).

The most recent Socimi to list on MAB was Trajano Iberia, owned by Deutsche Bank, which debuted on 30 July,… In addition, Entrecampos, Mercal Inmuebles, Promorent, Uro Property and Fidere (Blackstone’s Socimi) complete the line-up of Socimis listed on this alternative investment platform.

One thing is certain, Obsido will not be the last Socimi to debut on this market. In fact, analysts expect that the MAB will receive a new wave of Socimis after the summer.

Original story: Idealista

Translation: Carmel Drake