Tag: share price

Carlos Slim Puts The Brakes On FCC’s Sale Of Realia

3 February 2015 – Expansión

The new controlling shareholder of the construction company FCC is evaluating his legal options for taking ownership of the listed real estate company, for which Hispania launched a takeover bid in November.

The emergence of the Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim as a new significant shareholder in the capital of FCC, represents a turning point in the plans of the Spanish group. The businessman has decided to put one of FCC’s most recent strategic decisions on hold, namely the sale of its historical stake in Realia, according to Expansión.

The turnaround in the performance of the real estate company since it put its stake in Realia up for sale, together with Bankia, at the end of 2013, reflects not only the limited income that the construction group will receive for its 36.9% stake, but also the interest shown by Slim in taking ownership of these assets. Slim has extensive experience in the sector through his own real estate company Carso.

To this end, the Mexican businessman has instructed lawyers to study the legal formulae that would enable him to buy Realia, given that he is the majority shareholder of one of the vendor companies.

The transaction is not without its complexities. On the one hand, FCC has made a commitment to Bankia, its historical partner in Realia, to sell the 62% stake that they jointly own, through a process led by Goldman Sachs.

In November, the Socimi Hispania Real launched a takeover bid for 100% of Realia at €0.49 per share. The offer valued the real estate company at just over €150 million, 28% below its market price at the time.

The takeover bid was accompanied by an agreement with Realia’s main creditors, the funds Fortress, King Street and Goldman Sachs, stating that they would sell 51% of their debt to Hispania and jointly recapitalise the company. The funds made an agreement to negotiate exclusively with the Socimi.

Hispania’s offer for 100% of Realia is conditional on its acceptance by at least 52.5% of the shareholders and so the decision as to whether the takeover bid will succeed or not rests with the two controlling shareholders, which have taken decisions on a consensual basis up until now.

Hispania’s offer is currently being considered by the CNMV, which is expected to make a ruling within a month or two. Then, FCC anad Carlos Slim will have to make a decision, once they know all of the details of Hispania’s plans. As a result of Slim’s interest in Realia, the real estate company’s shares soared in trading on Monday by 18.03% to reach €0.72.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Ruíz, D. Badía and 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

UBS Strengthens Its Stake In NH Following Intesa’s Exit

2 February 2015 – Expansión

New movement in the share capital of the NH Hotel Group: the identity is now being revealed of the entities that purchased the 26.77 million shares – representing 7.6% of the hotel chain’s capital – that Intesa San Paolo sold just over a week ago. UBS is the first company to acknowledge that it took advantage of the Italian bank’s exit to strengthen its holding in NH; it acquired around 1% of the total capital – 3.48 million shares – on 23 January, according to CNMV records.

Together with the shares that it already held in its portfolio, the Swiss bank now owns 11,630,402 shares, representing 3.3% of NH’s capital. Intesa sold its shareholding for €113.8 million, at a price of €4.25 per share, which brings the total amount of UBS’s transaction to €14.81 million.

New shareholder profile

Following the acquisition, the Swiss entity becomes the fifth largest shareholder in NH, whose main shareholder is the Chinese conglomerate HNA, with a 29.5% stake. It is followed by the Inversor Hesperia Group (9.09%), Banco Santander (which become a shareholder in December after taking over 8.56% held by Hesperia, to which it acts as the main lending entity) and the fund THS (3.89%).

Almost all of NH’s share capital has changed hands in less than two years, following the exit of its traditional shareholders, such as Bankia, Amancio Ortega – the owner of the retail empire Inditex – and Intesa. NH’s share price was €4.39 at close of trading on Friday, down 0.23%. Its price has rise by 10.44% this year.

Original story: Expansión (by Y. Blanco)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lualca Sells 2% Of Its Stake In Realia Before Hispania’s Takeover Bid Is Approved

29 January 2015 – Expansión

The real estate company Lualca has reduced its stake in Realia to less than 3% (specifically, to 2.94%), after selling 2% of its capital.

The company, led by Luis Canales Burguillo, first invested in the real estate company Realia in January 2008, when it acquired a 5.02% stake. Lualca paid €88.37 million at the time, which represented a valuation of €6.35 per share.

Yesterday, the company’s share value stood at €0.605, still a long way off of the price per share (€0.49) specified in the takeover bid that Hispania launched over 100% of Realia’s capital at the end of 2014.

FCC continues to be Realia’s largest shareholder, with a 36.89% stake, followed by Bankia, with 24.95%. Grupo Prasa also holds less than 3%.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake