Spanish listed property firms Inmobiliaria Colonial and Axiare Patrimonio said that their management boards have approved a merger of the two businesses to create an office giant with assets valued at more than €10 bn.
Colonial, which is led by CEO Pere Viñolas, already owned an 87% stake in Axiare after launching a €1.2 bn takeover bid in November last year, offering €18.50 per share in cash.
Under the planned merger, Colonial will take over Axiare with a share swap ratio of 1.8554 Colonial share for each Axiare Patrimonio share.
Credit Suisse International has been mandated to issue a fairness opinion with regards to the deal.
'The objective set with this transaction was successfully completed, and it strengthens Colonial’s growth strategy for the coming years offering an attractive shareholders value creation potential based on the combination of both companies,' commented Viñolas.
A leading office player
The deal consolidates Colonial's position as the leading platform for the prime office market in Paris, Madrid and Barcelona. With 74% of offices and 77% of the portfolio located in Madrid, Axiare's portfolio is ‘highly complementary’ to Colonial portfolio’s strategy, location and characteristics, the company said.
The combined portfolio will total 1.7 million m2 of assets under operation together with 330,000 m2 in assets under development. Post-transaction, the company's exposure to Spain, which currently accounts for 31% of the value of Colonial's assets, will increase to 42%. The bulk of the portfolio of the combined entity - 58% - will be located in Paris, while the office portfolio in Madrid and Barcelona will represent 27% and 10% respectively.
Colonial first bought into Axiare's share capital two years ago with the purchase of 15% of the company's shares.
