Atlantica Yield owner Abengoa considers changing sale process; may sell 16.5% stake to funds - report (translated)
05 JAN 2018
Abengoa SA [BME:ABG] is considering changing the process to sell its entire 41.5% stake in Atlantica Yield [NASDAQ:ABY], Expansion reported, citing financial sources. Instead of selling the entire holding to a single purchaser, the Canadian group Algonquin Power & Utilities [NYSE:AQN], Abengoa could accept offers from various funds that would enter Atlantica’s capital together with Algonquin, the paper said.
The transaction would affect 16.5% of Atlantica Yield, valued at around EUR 350m, the Spanish-language paper noted.
Algonquin announced the purchase of 25% of Atlantica last November. The deal, which included a broader strategic and industrial agreement, was valued at USD 607m (EUR 522m at the time) based on a price of USD 24.25 per Atlantica share. At the time, the valuation represented a 18% premium on the average share price for the previous month and 20% over the average share price for the year.
Under the deal, Algonquin has an option to purchase the remaining 16.5% of Abengoa's stock in Atlantica at the same price, USD 24.25 per share. The option would be effective for a period of 60 days from the closing date of the 25% sale. On expiry of that period, Algonquin also reserved a right of first refusal that could be exercised during the first quarter of 2018 if other offers arose.
According to the report, given that Atlantica stock currently trades at USD 21, several funds are waiting for Algonquin's call option to expire and that it does not activate the right of first refusal.
Several entities, mainly Canadian, including Brookfield and the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC), have shown interest, especially now that Atlantica has a great industrial partner in Canada, the paper added.