Inmoracal, Colonial merger gets green light from shareholders

Inmocaral's shareholders have voted in favour of the planned merger with Inmobiliaria Colonial at an extraordinary general meeting. The Spanish group told the national stock market regulator CNMV that its shareholders have also voted in favour of a proposed EUR 6.2 mln capital increase.

On Tuesday, Colonial's shareholders also backed the merger. The operation had been previously approved by both boards at a share swap ratio of 40 Inmocaral shares, valued at EUR 0.12 each, for every three Colonial shares, valued at EUR 3.

In January, Immoracal launched a EUR 2 bn takeover offer, EUR 44.31 per share, for peer Riofisa. The deal is expected to create the largest property company in Spain with a market value of EUR 14.846 bn, placing it ahead of Metrovacesa. The latter has suffered in the last year from a feud between its key shareholders and is now to be split up.

Riofisa's majority shareholder, the Losantos family owns a fraction over 50% of the company's outstanding shares and has already accepted the offer. Inmocaral has 90 days to present the takeover offer.

This is just the most recent of a series of acquisitions by Inmocaral in the last four months. After the EUR 3.5 bn takeover bid on Colonial, the Spanish firm purchases a 10.31% stake in Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise which added to 89.67% already controlled by Inmocaral in its French unit. At the end of 2006, Inmocaral also took over a 15% stake in the construction company FCC for EUR 1.534 bn. Its manager Luis Portillo, who is negotiating the entry in FCC's board, already heads Inmocaral, Colonial and SFL.