Inmobiliaria Colonial owners QIA and Villar Mir mull capital increase for SFL control swap
Inmobiliaria Colonial large shareholders, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Grupo Villar Mir are in advanced discussions to implement a change in ownership, El Confidencial reported, citing sources privy to the process.
The deal will be structured via a share swap between the Spanish property group Inmobiliaria Colonial and its French affiliate Société Foncière Lyonnaise (SFL), two listed companies of which QIA holds a 13% stake and a 22.2% stake respectively, the report said. Grupo Villar Mir owns a 15% stake in Colonial, the Spanish-language report noted.
Under the planned transaction, QIA will convert a majority of its shares in SFL into shares of Colonial though the deal could require a EUR 500m - EUR 600m capital increase for the Spanish property company, the report said. The operation will increase Colonial’s size by 20%. At present Colonial’s market capitalisation stands at c.EUR 1.9bn.
The deal would be subject to QIA maintaining a stake in Colonial below the compulsory takeover threshold of 30%, the report said.
Sources from Colonial declined to comment, the report said.
Colonial will increase above 70% its stake in SFL, currently at 53.1%, the report said. Therefore, the operation is subject to maintaining the French SIIC unit’s fiscal advantages, which put a threshold of 60% the stake a shareholder may have to benefit from these advantages, according to the report. The operation is subject to French authorities allowing SFL to maintain the same tax regime, El Confidencial said.
Other Colonial shareholders include Amura Capital, a vehicle linked to the Andorran bank Mora Banc (7%) and the Colombian Santo Domingo family (7%) via their vehicle Anguila.
SFL shareholders include the insurance company Predica (13.2%) and the Andorran financial group Reig Capital Group (4.4%).
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Source El Confidencial