Tag: offer

Carrillo Buys Vorsevi’s Former HQ In Sevilla For €3.6M

30 September 2016 – Real Estate Press

Vorsevi invested more than €12 million in the construction of one of the most sophisticated corporate headquarters on the former site of Expo 92, however, the company’s entry into liquidation has forced the sale of that property for €3.6 million.

The property, located on Calle Leonardo Da Vinci, has a surface area of more than 7,000 sqm spread over five floors, as well as two basements measuring 2,000 sqm, one of which has been fitted out as a car park for 70 vehicles.

The law firm Adalte Abogados has finally managed to sell Vorsevi’s former headquarters to the Cordobés businessman Antonio Carrillo, the telecommunications operator through the company PTV Telecom.

Carrillo made an initial offer for €3.6 million, an amount that no other serious contender had been able to exceed. This meant that the price per square metre amounted to just €515, bringing the value of Vorsevi’s headquarters below even its replacement cost.

Although several investors have analysed this operation, the fact is that the current competition from the Torre Sevilla skyscraper is too strong to risk backing a single building, and as such, it has become clear that, even today, real estate values in la Cartuja remain a historical lows.

Original story: Real Estate Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

La Finca Goes On Market For €700M: A Chinese Fund Is Interested

22 September 2016 – Ok Diario

Procisa, the property developer behind the business and residential complex La Finca, located in the northwest of Madrid, has put the “For Sale” sign up. Its Board of Directors is now listening to offers for the purchase of 100% of the company’s share capital, which is currently controlled by the heirs of Luis García Cereceda, founder of the family empire who died in 2010. There are already several investors interested in negotiating the purchase of the group.

According to sources close to the company’s Board of Directors, the objective right now is to continue depreciating the assets and to close the sale before the crisis that the company is undergoing hinders the operation.

According to data from the Commercial Registry, the value of Procisa’s assets decreased to €890 million at the end of 2014 (the last year for which accounts are available), an figure that falls well below the more than €1,000 million recorded in 2010. In fact, according to the sources consulted, the firm is currently reported to be worth around €700 million, a figure that concerns the company’s directors.

The key behind the success of this operation is for the majority shareholder, Susana García Cereceda, to give her approval for the sale of 100% of Procisa, something which has been denied until now. In fact, in June, the General Shareholders’ Meeting approved the carve out of the company into several companies, to allow the US fund Värde, which is investing in the Spanish real estate market, to enter the business. The majority shareholder wanted Värde to acquire 40% of the office business and for the entirety of the residential business to remain in the hands of the García Cereceda family.

According to the plans designed by the main shareholder, Procisa’s assets were going to be distributed between the new company La Finca Global Assets (which was going to manage the rental of offices and retail premises), the company Finca Somosaguas Golf (which was going to focus on building a luxury residential area under the Casablanca brand) and La Finca Promociones y Conciertos Inmobiliarios (into which the other assets and debts from the current Procisa company were going to be integrated).

Nevertheless, that operation was blocked by the Commercial Court number 11 of Madrid, in light of the opposition filed by Yolanda García, the sister of Susana and owner of 49% of Procisa. It was in this context that the company’s change of strategy arose, which is now “to listen to offers” in order to complete the sale of all of the company’s share capital. (…).

According to sources, a Chinese investment fund is already willing to make an offer for Procisa, although the sources consulted preferred not to give any more clues about the deal so as not to jeopardise the potential sale. The trump card that the company’s Board of Director have to close the operation is the recovery of the Spanish real estate sector, and the fact that a number of major companies are located in La Finca, both Spanish and multinationals. In addition, the company owns a luxury residential area, which has great potential to appreciate over the medium term.

Original story: Ok Diario (by L. Ramírez and Jaime Acero)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ortega Finalises Purchase Of Torre Cepsa For €500M

9 September 2016 – Expansión

The countdown has begun to one of the major operations of the year in the real estate sector. Ipic (International Petroleum Investment Company) – the Abu Dhabi state fund that owns the oil company Cepsa, the current tenant of the property – has notified Bankia of its intention to exercise its purchase option over Torre Cepsa, according to sources close to the operation.

The exercise of this call option unblocks the process that Ipic initiated several months ago, as part of its plan to execute the option to acquire the building and then sell it on to a third party almost immediately. On the basis of the offers received, the Arab Emirate fund has favoured the bid submitted by Pontegadea – the investment arm of Amancio Ortega.

Ponteagadea, which has become one of the largest real estate investors in Spain and overseas, is the clear favourite to purchase the property, which is located in the Cuatro Torres complex on Paseo de la Castellana (Madrid). Amancio Ortega, who is backed by the financial strength of his stake in Inditex, has offered to pay around €490 million for the property.

In October 2013, Bankia signed an agreement with Ipic to lease the tower that it owns, through its stake in Torre Norte Castellana. The lease contract was signed for a period of eight years, which may be extended by another seven years, on an annual basis.

Similarly, this agreement included a future call option, whose execution deadline is due to expire at the end of this month. Specifically, the expiry of this right drove Ipic to launch a process to look for investors interested in acquiring the asset. Ipic operates as a sovereign fund to channel energy investments from the Abu Dhabi Government.

According to Bankia’s audit report for 2015, the book value of the property is €384 million. That figure falls below the range of €400 million to €450 million at which the skyscraper was valued in 2013, when Bankia and Ipic signed their agreement.

Pontegadea is the second largest private real estate investor in Spain, with assets worth more than €6,000 million….surpassed only by Merlin (…). Amancio Ortega’s bid for Torre Cepsa is the favourite, but it is not the only one.

Other interested parties

Since the process to sell Torre Cepsa began, the asset has sparked interest amongst funds and investors, both at home and overseas.

The domestic players that have expressed interest in the asset include the Spanish Socimi Axiare. This real estate investment vehicle, which specialises in the office segment, held a portfolio of assets worth €1,048 million at the end of June.

One of Axiare’s main rivals is Merlin, the current owner of Torre PwC (previously known as Torre Sacyr Vallehermoso), which houses the headquarters of the professional services firm chaired by Gonzalo Sánchez, as well as the five-star Eurostars Madrid Tower hotel.

Torre Cepsa has 34 storeys and a surface area covering more than 109,000 sqm, of which 72,300 sqm corresponds to offices. The remaining space comprises five floors of parking.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo/M.A. Patiño)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Salazar Family Sells Hotel Velázquez For €63M

26 July 2016 – El Confidencial

Beset by debt, the Salazar family, the former owner of SOS-Cuétara, has spent the last three years trying to get rid of its vast hotel and real estate empire, an emporium whose last great jewel was the Gran Hotel Velázquez in Madrid, a property for which it has just received an irresistible offer.

Corporacion Hispano Hotelera, the company owned by the Salazar-Bello family, has reached an agreement with the Didra Group, famous for having constructed the luxurious residential areas of Montepríncipe and El Encinar, to sell the property for €63 million, according to several sources close to the deal.

The Ardid Villoslada family, which is behind Didra, has been linked to the property development business for decades and was made famous due to the marriage of one of its members, Rafael, to Mariola Martínez Borduí, the granddaughter of the dictator Francisco Franco. One of their sons, Jaime Ardid Martínez Bordiú has closed this agreement, with a view to opening a luxury 5-star hotel.

On 23 August 2016, Corporación Hispano Hotelera will present this sale for approval by the General Shareholders’ Meeting, with the aim of wrapping up the final sale in January, once the Salazar family has also received the blessing from its creditor banks, led by Banco Popular.

With its privileged location, in the heart of the neighbourhood of Salamanca, just a stone’s throw from the Retiro Park and the capital’s golden mile, the Gran Hotel Velázquez is a sought-after establishment. Nevertheless, it needs to be completely refurbished, according to experts in the sector.

In fact, Didra is expected to invest between €15 million and €20 million refurbishing the property. It plans to retain the image of a more bourgeois Madrid that characterises it, and always under the maxim of reserving the right to manage it, meaning that the Ardid family’s plans do not include opening a large hotel chain.

Didra maintains a close relationship with brands such as AC and NH, with which it operates some of the properties in its hotel group Nevertheless, the plans that the Ardid family have in mind for the Gran Hotel Velázquez more closely resemble the concept of the Hotel Palacio de Villapanés in Sevilla, a 5-star property located in the neighbourhood of Santa Cruz, in a former seventeenth century palace, which Didra manages itself.

With this sale, Corporación Hispano Hotelera will be reduced to an empty shell, after selling off the majority of its hotels in just over two years. The house of cards first started to topple in the Spring of 2014, when it had to close down Hotel Ada Palace, located on Gran Vía in Madrid, after it was evicted by the owner of the property, Real Gran Peña, which denounced the company for not paying the rent.

A year later, Hotusa purchased the Hotel María Elena, located 50m from Puerta del Sol, and renamed it the Eurostars Casa de la Lírica; meanwhile, Platinum Estates acquired the Hotel Asturias, in Plaza de Canalejas for €21.5 million. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Puerto Banús Sale Runs Into Difficulties

4 May 2016 – El Confidencial

Puerto Banús (Marbella) has always been a clear object of desire. Its name is associated with glamour, parties and luxury. And it has been up for sale for several months now. The company behind this leisure and port complex in Marbella wants to generate cash. But the death of Alberto Vidiella, the Chairman of Puerto Banús, in February is making the sales process more complicated. The death of Vidiella and the harsh conditions imposed by the Andalucían Government are making the sale of the company to a Swiss/Chinese consortium, led by Credit Suisse, more difficult and theirs is the only firm offer that the company has received to date.

Several auditors analysed the balance sheet of Puerto Banús at the end of 2015. No price has been set yet, but experts in the sector calculate that the cost of the company will not exceed €100 million. (…). Is the Wanda Group behind the Swiss/Chinese consortium? The owners deny any conversations with the Asian corporate giant. (…). But according to real estate sources in Madrid, Wanda would be willing to pay up to €250 million for the company. (…).

Meanwhile, Wanda could be behind the purchase of the iconic Marbella Club Hotel, according to the ABC newspaper in Sevilla. However, an official spokesman for the luxury tourist complex denied that claim to this newspaper. “There is nothing in it. We have invested a lot of money in the hotel in recent years and there are always rumours. But we are not for sale”, said Rudolf Graf von Schönburg, advisor to the complex. (…).

The Andalucían Government is aware of the offer from the Swiss group. The Public Agency for Ports in Andalucía, led by Alfonso Rodrígeuz Gómez de Celis, confirmed to this newspaper that it received a letter on 29 January, from an international consortium interested in finding out more about the conditions for a possible expansion (of the marina) into the open sea and extensions of the concession term. The regional government is not responsible for either matter; the State is. (…).

For the time being, no other offers have been received for Puerto Banús, although conversations and interest from other overseas investors, above all high profile British and German funds, are continuing in a steady trickle (…).

One of the main problems facing all of the parties interested in buying Puerto Banús are the intentions of the Regional Government to not allow the construction of any hotels or shopping centres on the site in the future. The plans only include an increase in the number of berths, by 450, worth at least €75 million. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Agustín Rivera)

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.

(…)

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

Slim Buys Bankia’s Realia Stake, To Make Bid For Whole Company

5 March 2015 – Bloomberg

Inmobiliaria Carso, a holding company owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, agreed to buy Bankia SA’s stake in Realia Business SA and make a bid for the whole company as he increases his investment in Spain.

Carso will pay 0.58 euros per share, or 44.5 million euros ($49.3 million), to buy Bankia’s 24.95 percent stake in the Spanish developer and has committed to bid for the whole company at the same price within nine months, the bank said in a filing to regulators in Madrid today. Realia shares closed today at 86 cents.

Slim, the world’s third-richest man, last November agreed to become the biggest shareholder in Fomento de Construcciones & Contratas SA (FCC), which is also Realia’s shareholder, as the construction company sought to cut debt. Slim is one of several high-profile investors, including George Soros, who are investing in Spanish companies, as they bet that growth will pick up pace as the country emerges from its property crash.

Hispania Activos Inmobilarios SA, a Spanish real estate investment trust, last November said it would offer 0.49 euros per share for Realia. FCC owns about 37 percent of Realia, according to regulatory filings.

Bankia, Spain’s fourth-biggest bank, has to sell off its industrial equity stakes as part of the terms of its rescue with European funds in 2012 after losses on real estate pushed it to the verge of collapse.

Original story: Bloomberg (by Charles Penty)

Edited by: Carmel Drake