Tag: placement

Värde Seeks Advisors For Aelca’s IPO

28 August 2017 – Expansión

The US fund, which has already hired an underwriter for the stock market debut of its other property developer, Vía Célere, has asked for proposals from investment banks and advisors to list the company Aelca on the stock market.

A new real estate company is getting ready for its stock market debut. After the successful IPO of Neinor Homes, the first property developer to debut on the stock market in Spain in almost a decade, several companies in the sector have placed their focus on the stock market.

The latest company to join the party is Aelca. The Madrilenian property developer, or more specifically, its majority shareholder, the US fund Värde Partners, has invited the main investment banks and advisory firms to submit their respective proposals to support the debut of the company on the stock market, according to sources in the sector.

Founded in 2012 by Javier Gómez (pictured above right) and José Juan Martín (pictured above left), Aelca owns a portfolio that is currently worth €650 million. In June 2016, Värde acquired 75% of the property developer from the construction group Avintia. The remaining stake is held by the two founding partners, who serve as the senior executives of the real estate company.

The first round of contact with the possible underwriters was made at the end of July, with the aim of the debut taking place in 2018.

Ahead of that, Värde wants to list another property developer on the stock market: Vía Célere, in which it holds a 51% stake. The US fund has already chosen Credit Suisse, Jefferies-Arcano and CaixaBank to lead that placement, which could materialise this year, whereby taking advantage of the high degree of interest that exists in investing in Spanish real estate.

Investment

Like in the case of Vía Célere, the US fund will try to grow Aelca as much as possible before its debut on the stock market, with the aim of achieving the maximum return. Värde paid €50 million for 75% of the company, an investment that it will easily recover through the placement.

In total, since acquiring its stake in Aelca’s share capital, Värde has spent €200 million on land purchases, according to its founders in an interview with Expansión in April.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sabadell Considers Listing HI Partners As A Socimi

29 May 2017 – Eje Prime

A new IPO may be on the horizon for the real estate arm of one of the large Spanish banks. Banco Sabadell is analysing the option of debuting its subsidiary HI Partners, through which it owns a portfolio of 31 hotels across Spain, on the stock market as a Socimi.

According to Expansión, the bank has engaged the investment banks Citi, JP Morgan and Credit Suisse to study the feasibility of the placement, whose final green light will depend on the entity’s President, Josep Oliu. The eventual debut on the stock market could take place after the summer.

Led by Alejandro Hernández-Puértolas and chaired by Enric Rovira, HI Partners was founded in 2015 by Sabadell to enable the Catalan entity to concentrate the ownership of the real estate assets linked to the tourist sector that it obtained as a result of foreclosures, into a single company. Through two companies, HI Partners Value Added and HI Partners Gestión Activa, the firm now owns 31 hotels with more than 3,500 rooms, which are managed by various hotel operators.

The group’s assets include establishments in Tenerife (the Hotel Jardín Tropical), Marbella (Incosol), Sitges (Terramar), Valencia (Acteon), Málaga (an establishment run by the hotel chain Silken) and Mallorca (the Hilton Sa Torre). In addition, HI Partners manages €800 million of the bank’s hotel debt.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

BBVA Places €1,250M 7-Year Mortgage Bond Issue

9 March 2016 – Cinco Días

On Tuesday, BBVA launched a 7-year mortgage bond issue, amounting to €1,250 million, at a price of 52 basis points above the mid swap rate, the reference rate for this kind of placement.

The operation was well received, with demand amounting to €2,700 million, according to market sources. That drove down the price from 60 basis points first thing, to the aforementioned spread of 52 basis points above the reference rate. The figure represents the cheapest price at which any Spanish bank has placed debt so far this year.

By geography, 41% of the debt was placed with German and Austrian investors; 18% was placed with Spanish investors; 10% with Norwegian investors; 9% with investors from France and the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and 8% with Italian investors.

In addition, another 4% of the debt was placed with investors in Europe; another 3% in the UK and Ireland; and another 2% in Switzerland. By type of investor, the main buyers were central banks and official bodies (37%); followed by fund managers (27%); insurance companies and pension funds (18%) and banks (17%).

The banks that acted as the underwriters of this debt issue were BBVA itself, as well as Citigroup, Crédit Agricole, Lloyds Bank and Sociètè Gènèrale.

BBVA already issued €1,000 million in 5-year mortgage bonds during the first few days of the year. This type of issue has been very popular in recent times. Also in January, Bankia issued €1,000 million in 5-year bonds; Santander placed €1,000 million in 10-year bonds; and the Spanish subsidiary of Deutsche Bank issued €500 million in 7-year bonds.

Meanwhile, CaixaBank issued another €1,500 million in 7-year bonds at the beginning of February and Banco Popular followed suit later that month with the issue of €1,500 million in 7-year bonds.

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake

Popular Places €1,500M 6-Year Mortgage Bond Issue

26 February 2016 – Cinco Días

Banco Popular has issued €1,500 million in mortgage bonds with a six year term and a price of 88 points above the mid-swap rate. Demand for the bonds has exceeded €2,800 million, according to market sources.

This is the first debt issue that the entity led by Ángel Ron has completed in 2016. Last year, the bank issued debt amounting to €5,050 million in total.

Popular’s most important debt issuances in 2015 included: the issue of senior debt amounting to €500 million, of which 74% was acquired by international investors; €3,000 million in bonds with interest rates that were “historically low” for the entity; and €750 million in Additional Tier 1, which was placed entirely with qualifying international investors within just a few hours.

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake

CaixaBank Places €1,500M 7-Year Mortgage Bond Issue

2 February 2016 – Cinco Días

The bank chaired by Isidro Fainé…has placed a 7-year mortgage bond issue amounting to €1,500 million. The entity has been helped by Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Société Générale and UBS.

CaixaBank has placed the debt issue at a price of 78 basis points above the 7-year midswap rate (the risk free interest rate corresponding to that term), slightly below the reference rate of 80 basis points sought at the beginning of the placement. The coupon has therefore been left untouched at 1%.

Demand for the issue has amounted to more than €2,500 million, with more than 125 investors expressing interest in it, of which a significant number were foreigners. This has allowed the entity to reduce the price of the issue. CaixaBank’s last debt issue, which was placed on 4 November 2015, amounted to €1,000 million. It had a five-year term and a coupon of 0.625%. The entity is strengthening its surplus liquidity, which amounted to more than €54,000 million at the end of last year.

Spanish banks are rushing to raise funds on the capital markets. In January, BBVA placed a 5-year senior debt issue amounting to €1,000 million; meanwhile, Bankia placed mortgage debt amounting to €1,000 million; Santander issued 10-year bonds for the same value; and Deutsche Bank issued bonds amounting to €500 million with a 7-year term.

Santander achieved a price of 65 basis points over the midswap rate – the reference index for this kind of debt issue – on its placement. It will pay a coupon of 1.5%. Mediobanca, Natixis and Nomura accompanied the Santander group in the management of the operation.

Javier González, Head of Debt Issues by Financial Entities at BNP Paribas, which participated in the placements of BBVA, Bankia and the Treasury, confirmed that the money invested in these operations has been coming from end investors, such as investment and pension funds.

Banco Santander and Bankia have chosen to issue mortgage bonds because the volatile environment makes this type of asset very popular with conservative investors.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Pablo Martín Simón)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Acciona’s Future – Positive Outlook But What Next?

12 June 2015 – Expansión

Acciona’s Chairman, José Manuel Entrecanales, says that the Group’s restructuring has been completed and that the company is now looking to re-launch itself.

The construction and services group Acciona, which held its annual general shareholders’ meeting yesterday, expects to take a decision regarding the future of its energy and real estate activities before the end of the year. It is exploring the option of listing some or all of its business on the stock market in 2016, according to José Manuel Entrecanales, who spoke at the end of yesterday’s meeting. His comments come just a few weeks after Acciona announced that it is considering adopting the Socimi format for its real estate division. Socimis have operating assets that generate yields, and whereby often promise high dividends.

New partners

As an alternative to the real estate listing, or in parallel to it, Entrecanales is also considering ushering in a new shareholder. The Group has already gone down that route for its renewable assets outside of Spain, for which it has signed a partnership with KKR.

Regarding renewables, Entrecanales confirmed that the group is now analysing several alternatives to the ones it was initially considering. The option of publicly listing its overseas renewable assets on the US stock exchange, once KKR acquired 33% of those assets, has been parked for the time being. Now, it is analysing the possibility of listing all of its assets, including the Spanish ones, and even doing so on the Spanish stock market.

Entrecanales said that the options for going public in the USA or Europe are well matched at the moment. He also indicated that the new proposal has been made in conjunction with KKR.

Entrecanales said to the shareholders that “both the real estate and energy activities may be susceptible to independent access to the equity markets”, although he said that the process is being subjected to internal review.

Transmediterránea and Bestinver

As for the future of the Transmediterránea subsidiary, the Chairman of Acciona said that the outlook is now “optimistic” after the restructuring that has been undertaken and that, as a result, the group has decided to “defer any corporate transactions involving sales, mergers or the entry of new shareholders, at least until the results clearly reflect the true value of the company”

Regarding the other subsidiary, Bestinver, which suffered from the “sudden” exit of its management team last year, Entrecanales said that it has overcome its “troubles” and that the company now has the management team it needs to “face a bright future”.

As such, Entrecanales envisages a new phase of growth and expansion for the group, after going through what he refers to as a “hard stage” over the last two years, during which time the group “has faced one of the toughest challenges in its history”.

Entrecanales downplayed the latest incident that took place this week, when the company was excluded from the Ibex 35 due to its low trading volumes. “It is not a big deal” said Entrecanales. He has no plans to adopt any special measures to try to return the company to the Ibex, such as for example, undertaking a share split to give more liquidity to the securities.

Original story: Expansión (by Miguel Angel Patiño)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sacyr Invites Alternative Offers For Testa

8 May 2015 – Expansión

The construction group has engaged Lazard to coordinate offers for its real estate subsidiary Testa. It was initially planning to place 30% of the shares on the stock exchange (but is now open to alternative proposals).

Sacyr was going to place 30% of Testa‘s shares on the stock exchange, but the widespread interest expressed in the market has caused the construction group to change its strategy. The company, which had proposed a public offering (IPO) of 30% of Testa’s shares to the CNMV, is currently evaluating several alternatives: to continue with the plan to place some shares in the market with qualified investors; to join forces with an institutional partner such as a Socimi or international fund; and in the meantime, it does not rule out the sale of 100% of its subsidiary. Moreover, it is also considering a fourth option, which would have a much greater strategic significance, namely the integration of Testa with a large group in the sector, in this case, Colonial, to create the largest Spanish real estate company and one of the largest in Europe.

Sacyr has engaged Lazard to carry out this process. The investment bank has instructed the various investors that are interested in Testa to make a non-binding offer for the company.

Proposals will be welcomed both for the 30% stake that Sacyr had initially planned to place on the stock exchange, as well as for the entire share capital. Lazard has given interested parties until today to present offers, say sources close to the process. One player that is interested in acquiring the real estate company is Merlin Properties. The largest Socimi by market capitalisation has acknowledged its interest in participating in Testa’s capital. Now, Merlin would be willing to acquire Testa in partnership with other investors and purchase 100% of the company, according to sources in the sector.

Corporate movement

Sacyr is also studying a possible integration of Colonial and Testa. For the time being, the conversations are very preliminary between Sacyr and the real estate company whose primary shareholder is Juan Miguel Villar Mir.

The merger of both companies would create a giant with more than two million square metres of leasable surface area in prime areas of Madrid, Barcelona and Paris and a combined turnover of €400 million. Testa’s market capitalisation amounts to €2,098 million and Colonial’s is €1,977 million.

Sources involved in the process confirm the interest shown by Colonial. The final decision will depend on the other options that Sacyr has on the table. The placement of a percentage of new shares in Testa on the stock market (a maximum of 30%) forms part of the action plan designed by Sacyr to regularise the finances of its subsidiary and provide it with greater liquidity. The shareholders of the real estate company, controlled by Sacyr (99.2%), approved an ‘accordion operation’ in February, involving a €1,197 million contribution to shareholders, comprising a €527 million ordinary dividend and a €669 million reduction in share capital.

This transaction is, in turn, subject to a simultaneous capital increase that would enable Testa to reconstruct its balance sheet through the inflow of around €500 million. It is during this phase that Colonial may enter the fray.

The real estate company chaired by Juan José Brugera is exploring growth opportunities in Spain after cleaning up its balance sheet in 2014 with a capital increase of €1,263 million, which involved the entry of Juan Miguel Villar Mir, along with Mora Banc and Qatar Investment into the share capital of the real estate company. Villar Mir is currently the owner of 24.5% of Colonial, after buying a new block of 1.46 million shares (in recent weeks).

According to experts, the potential merger of Colonial and Testa makes sense in business terms, since both companies specialise in the rental of buildings; exclusively office buildings in the case of Colonial and shopping centres and homes in the case of Testa.

Nevertheless, the change in ownership may have an impact on the financial structure of the companies, with guarantees linked to new investments and changes of control. At the end of 2014, Colonial’s net debt amounted to €2,545 million and Testa’s amounted to €1,688 million.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Ruiz and C. Morán)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cajamar Places €750m 7-year Mortgage Bond Issue

16 January 2015 – Expansión

Cajamar Caja Rural has placed an issue of seven-year mortgage bonds amounting to €750 million, maturing on 26 January 2022, according to a statement released by the entity, which reveals that the orders received for the issue have exceeded €1,200 million.

The placement price of the issue – whose initial aim exceeded €500 million – has been set at 90 basis points above the mid-swap, to give a fixed annual coupon of 1.25% and a yield for the investor of 1.359%.

The high demand for this placement, at both a national and international level, indicates the support that institutional investors are showing for the financial activity of Spanish cooperative banks, led by the Cajamar Cooperative Group, according to reports by the bank.

The underwriters of this issue are BBVA, Crédit Agricole, Barclays and SOCGEN.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake