Prisa appoints Morgan Stanley and Banco Santander as EUR 562m capital increase underwriters
Promotora de Informaciones [BME:PRS] (Prisa) has appointed Morgan Stanley and Banco Santander as underwriters for its EUR 562m capital increase, El Confidencial reported citing financial sources. The two banks will underwrite the public offering with preferential rights that Prisa intends to carry out in the coming weeks to stabilise its financial situation.
Morgan Stanley and Santander will seek investors who would invest between EUR 170m and EUR 230m, which is equal to Prisa’s current market capitalization, the report noted. The capital raise has been increased from the initial EUR 450m to EUR 562m following the refusal by hedge funds to convert Prisa's debt into shares at a loss.
Prisa announced the transaction in October and seeks to close it by 31 March. Prisa’s main shareholders - AmberCapital (19%), the Polanco family (17.5%), HSBC (14.4%), Telefónica (13%), the Mexican investor Roberto Alcántara (8.9%), CaixaBank (4.9%) and Banco Santander (4.1%) - have to announce today (22 January) their commitment to the transaction.
Morgan Stanley and Santander are optimistic about the transaction, since the majority of the relevant shareholders will invest in the increase between 60 and 70% of the amount to be placed, the report added.