Lar España’s Dividend Soars After Profits Of €44M In 2015

1 March 2016 – Expansión

Lar España generated a net profit of €43.6 million in 2015, which represents a thirteen-fold increase in the figure from the previous year, thanks to growth in revenues from rental assets, which quadrupled to €35.7 million.

At its next shareholders’ meeting, the Socimi will propose the distribution of a €12 million dividend, which represents a payment of €0.201 per share, in other words, six times more than the dividend paid in the previous year. “In 2014, we were one of the few companies in the sector to distribute dividends, having operated for only nine months, and this year we are going to distribute more than a quarter of last year’s profits to our shareholders”, said the President of Lar España, José Luis del Valle (pictured above).

Original story: Expansión (by R.A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Realia’s Board Warns Against Slim’s Offer, But To His Benefit

6 July 2015 – Expansión

Although it may seem contradictory, Realia’s negative assessment of Carlos Slim‘s offer, announced by the real estate company’s Board of Directors yesterday, may be beneficial for the interests of the Mexican investor. If the minority shareholders (who hold a 38% stake) follow the Board’s recommendations, then they will not accept the takeover bid and that will allow Slim to reduce his offer and, at the same time, avoid one of the clauses that would activate the early repayment of some of Realia’s loans, amounting to €790 million.

Through Carso, Slim already holds effective control over the real estate company through his direct stake of 24.9% (he purchased Bankia’s stake for €44.5 million) and his indirect stake of 37% held through FCC (which has announced that it will not participate in the takeover bid), where he is the majority shareholder with a 25.6% stake. As a result, he exerts control over Realia, with a stake of almost 62%.

Carlos Slim launched a voluntary offer for 100% of the real estate company at the same price as he acquired the shares from Bankia (€0.58 per share), which exceeds the offer submitted by Hispania (€0.49). Both rival bids have now entered a competitive process, which the CNMV will settle within a period of 30 days.

Although Realia’s Board described the offer as “unreasonable”, it does appreciate certain features of Slim’s takeover bid. The offer from the Latin American tycoon falls 19% below the real estate company’s market price (€0.69), but it is 18% higher than Hispania’s bid. Moreover, Realia’s Board (the Mexican’s representative, Gerardo Kuri, did not participate in the deliberations) appreciates: the fact that the bid amount would be paid in cash; that the bidder is “a company with extensive experience in the real estate sector; and that the bidder would bring stability to the shareholder structure of the company”, which has promised to restore dividend payments as soon as possible and ensure the continuity of the company on the stock exchange.

Renegotiation

Slim has been working on the company financing side of the Realia transaction for a long time. Realia’s main creditors are Fortress, King Street and Goldman Sachs. The funds, which together loaned Realia €790 million of its total debt of €1,000 million, signed an exclusivity agreement with Hispania. They could declare the early repayment of the liability, with just five days notice, if Slim’s shareholding were to exceed 30% and there was a change in Realia’s controlling shareholder.

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Slim and Hispania still have time to improve their offers, up to five working days before the end of the period for offers to be accepted, i.e. around 17 July or 20 July. If they do not increase their bids, they must submit an envelope with their best offer to the CNMV. If Hispania’s offer is worse but the difference between its offer and Slim’s is less than 2%, then the Socimi in which George Soros holds a stake will have the option to match the offer made by its competitor.

Meanwhile, if the Mexican investor exceeds the number of shares held by FCC, it will have to launch a mandatory takeover for 100% of the company. And not at €0.58 per share, but at the fair price set by the CNMV.

Realia closed trading on Friday at €0.69 per share, up 0.7%.

Original story: Expansión (by C. Morán)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sacyr Begins Relaunch Of Testa’s IPO To Raise €300m

3 February 2015 – Expansión

Testa, a company controlled by Sacyr, which owns 99.3% of its share capital, will hold the annual meeting of its shareholders today. It is expected that the mandate of the real estate company’s Board will be renewed to approve the distribution of extraordinary dividends and contributions to shareholders through a reduction in share capital. These measures are conditioned on the launch of Testa’s IPO, through which the company seeks to raise at least €300 million.

Specifically, Testa’s Board will give the green light to a capital reduction of €669 million and the return of a further €527 million to its parent company. Sacyr will receive €1,188 million from its subsidiary for both of these concepts.

Sacyr has engaged JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Garrigues to coordinate the IPO. Although the percentage stakes (of the new shareholders) have not been fixed, the entry of new shareholders (which will dilute the current ownership structure) will be limited to a maximum of 30% of the capital, since Sacyr wants to retain its position as the controlling shareholder, with a stake of more than 70%. The banks tried to launch this transaction last year, but market conditions prevented it from going ahead.

The company will try again in 2015, at a time when companies have turned their gaze back to the stock market as a means of financing their businesses and growth plans. Currently, around twenty companies in Europe are looking to go public. In Spain, notable placements include those by Aena, Saeta Yield (ACS), Abertis Telecom and Talgo, amongst others.

Testa’s shares closed trading yesterday flat at €18 per share, representing a market capitalisation of €2,078 million. At this market price, the sale of 25% of Testa’s capital would generate revenues of €500 million.

The subsidiary is the jewel in Sacyr’s crown. It is one of the leading companies in its sector by market assets, with a leasable surface area of 1.37 million square metres and an occupancy rate of 97%.

Original story: Expansión (by C. M.)

Translation: Carmel Drake