Tag: Trinitario Casanova

Wanda Confirms Sale Of Edificio España To Baraka For €272M

26 July 2016 – Cinco Días

The Wanda Group has confirmed that it has reached an agreement with the Murcian group Baraka (the investor group owned by Trinitario Casanova) to sell Edificio España for €272 million, but it has made it clear that the deal has not been formalised yet, according to a statement presented to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The price represents €7 million more than the €265 million that Wanda spent when it acquired the property in 2014.

In its statement, Wanda echoed the information circulating in the press that the Group owned by Wang Jianlin has reached an agreement with Baraka to sell Edificio España and it detailed the terms of the sales agreement reached with the Spanish group.

The company owned by Wang Jianlin stated that on 12 July, Wanda European Real Estate Investment and Baraka Global Invest signed a “memorandum of understanding” relating to the negotiation and possible sale “of all of the issued shares, amounting to €272 million.

Under the framework of this memorandum, continued Wanda, Baraka has paid €1 million as a deposit to the Chinese group, which grants the buyer exclusive rights to proceed with the sale until 15 October 2016. Next, it added that the sale is still “under discussion and consultation and is subject to a final agreement between the parties”.

For this reason, it warned that “investors should pay attention to the possible sale, which may or may not go ahead”.

Abandoned plans

The Chinese group put Edificio España up for sale after giving up on its plans for the property, citing technical difficulties. Wanda had wanted to remodel the building to construct a hotel, shopping centre and luxury homes.

The main obstacle was that the Town Hall required the Wanda Group to maintain the façades of the original building.

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake

Baraka Group Agrees To Buy Edificio España For c. €265M

20 July 2016 – Expansión

The Baraka group, controlled by the businessman Trinitario Casanova, has reached an agreement with the Chinese group Dalian Wanda to acquire Edificio España in Madrid, according to reports by the El Mundo newspaper.

The holding company is finalising the details of the operation, which is expected to be completed after the summer. Casanova’s offer, which is understood to amount to around €265 million, reportedly exceeded the bids made by the other interested parties, including the Chinese firm Fosun, Hemisferio and Platinum Estates.

According to reports, Baraka is undertaking a significant expansion program. It recently acquired a plot of land measuring more than 10 million sqm in Valdebebas (Madrid) for around €75 million.

The “for sale” sign went up over the iconic Edificio España building in January, when Wanda engaged the real estate consultancy JLL, which has not confirmed the operation, to find a buyer.

The Chinese group, controlled by Wang Jianlin, the richest man in China, opened the door to the possible sale of the building after discrepancies arose with the Town Hall of Madrid regarding the renovation of the building. Wanda’s plans, which included the construction of a luxury hotel, a shopping centre and homes, clashed with the demands of the Town Hall, which insisted on the conservation of the front and side façades of the building, as established by the law governing the protection of historical buildings. In any case, Wanda has maintained contact with Madrid’s Town Planning team, in parallel with the sales process, and last met with them on 14 June.

The Chinese group paid Banco Santander €265 million in June 2014 for the building. Now, it is on the verge of selling it for a similar amount.

Wanda’s future divestment of Edificio España comes shortly after the Asian holding company announced its purchase of the UCI Odeon group – which owns the largest cinema chain in Spain.

After several years trying to sell the British Odeon cinema chain to AMC Theatres, Wanda’s subsidiary in the USA, the private equity firm Terra Firma announced the deal on 12 July. The price of that transaction amounts to GBP 921 million (around €1,100 million), of which GBP 407 million relates to the debt held by UCI Odeon, which the buyer will take on.

One of UCI Odeon’s main assets, to be taken over by Dalian Wanda, is the chain Cinesa, which is the largest film company in Spain with 535 screens across the country. In total, the chain owns 2,236 screens in 242 cinemas in Spain, the UK, Italy, Austria, Portugal and Germany. (…).

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Trinitario Casanova Acquires Gran Vía 44

10 December 2015 – El Confidencial

It was one of the most coveted operations of the summer. The sale of the branch that Bankia owned on Gran Vía 44, awakened the appetite of all types of investors, from Socimis to individuals, whose offers reflected the outrageous interest that exists for the real estate sector, in general and for this thoroughfare in the capital, in particular.

In the end, the victor is a familiar face in the sector, the businessman from Levante, Trinitario Casanova, who has acquired this asset through the company Tecnolandia, after putting an offer for around €20 million on the table.

Although this company actually won the bid in August, the deed is not scheduled to be definitively signed until next week, which means that the businessman has now been dragged out from the shadows. Until now he had depended on the formula known as “blind investor” to maintain his anonymity throughout this process.

This system is being increasingly accepted by purchasers who wish to stay in the shadows, to avoid their real names being used to overheat the process, for example. Asesorama has been the firm that has defended the interests of Trinitario and Tecnolandia, the company through which Casanova has made his offer and which has acted as a screen until the property was awarded, and only then was it revealed who was behind the offer.

With a surface area of 500 m2, covering the basement and the ground floor, the premises that the businessman from Levante has just acquired was formerly a branch of Bankia until this month. The €20 million spent takes the price paid per squared metre to €45,000/m2, an amount that many seem excessive, but behind which a second game is being played.

Technolandia has also acquired the mezzanine floors of number 44 Gran Via, which means that in total, it now owns 900 m2 in one of the best corners of the thoroughfare, which confers it a privileged position to now negotiate a lease contract with a future tenant.

In fact, according to enquiries made by El Confidencial, Trinitario Casanova is currently negotiating with several interested parties, including an English fashion chain, a restaurant group and a renowned childrens’ brand. Whoever the final tenant ends up being, it will have to wait until the Spring to open the doors of the new establishment.

Initially, the businessman was hoping that Bankia was going to close its branch on Gran Via sooner, but the entity has waited until the final stretch of the year, which means that along with the renovation that needs to take place, the new tenant will not be able to begin operations until April or May. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake